A Lesson in US History
by EmiEllie
Summary: "You're the strangest girl I've ever met." Rachel and Finn meet during their first week of College and the rest, as they say, is history. Rachel/Finn romance, Rachel/Santana/Puck/Finn friendship. Rated M for language and sex. AU.
1. Part I

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee.**

* * *

i.

They meet during their first week of classes at OSU.

Finn's running late for a US History seminar and, when he arrives at the auditorium, it's already packed with freshmen. He slips in quietly, trying to find a free seat without alerting the lecturer, who's already explaining in meticulous detail something about the Civil Rights Act. He soon sees one at the end of a row near the middle of the auditorium next to a petite brunette. Her large, brown eyes are focused on their lecturer as her hand moves quickly across her notepad. She doesn't even notice him as he slides into the seat next to her.

Finn soon realizes that US History is boring. In fact, he'd already assumed it would be, but he had a blank column in his timetable that he needed to fill and the only other class that didn't clash with football practice was Home Economics. He's just starting to drift off when the lecturer raises his voice.

"Hey there Sleepy Head," he says, looking directly at Finn. "Since you must already know everything there is to know about the Civil Rights Act - else you wouldn't be using my class to have a power nap - why don't you tell us the date this landmark piece of legislation was enacted?"

"Uh..." Finn has no idea. His eyes start darting around the room, as if the answer is going to just fall from the sky, when they land on the brunette next to him. She's discretely holding up a piece of paper with a line of neat cursive written across it. Quickly reading what it says and immediately realising that this girl he's never even met is trying to help him out, he recites the date to their lecturer. "May 15th, 1963."

The lecturer starts to smile, so Finn turns to give the brunette (who he's just now noticing is actually kind of pretty in an unconventional way) a grateful smile. Just as their eyes meet, the lecturer speaks again. "I believe the date Miss Berry just supplied you with is that of Barbra Streisand's first Grammy win."

Finn's eyes widen in disbelief as he looks at her. In return, she innocently shrugs her shoulders and turns back to face their lecturer. "Which leads me to believe you in fact know the correct answer?" he asks _Miss Berry_.

"The correct answer is July 2nd, 1964," she replies without preamble. (Even though she's just set him up, Finn can't help but think she has one of the sweetest voices he's ever heard.)

He sinks back into his seat as the lecturer proceed to give them all the third degree on turning up to classes on time and paying attention, though of course he knows it's for his benefit. Even though she just made him look like an idiot in front of about two hundred other students, Finn can't resist looking over his shoulder at the pretty brunette.

* * *

ii.

After US History, Rachel makes a swift exit from the auditorium, needing to get all the way over to the Musical Theatre department in less than two minutes. However, she's stopped in her tracks when she hears a deep, masculine voice from behind her. "Hey! Hey!" the tall boy with the messy dark hair is calling across the quad.

Rachel turns around just as he gets to within speaking-distance of her and is immediately struck by just how handsome he is. She hadn't had chance to thoroughly look at him during their class since she was too busy taking notes, but now that she's really _seeing_ him for the first time, she can't tear her eyes away. "Uh, hi," she mumbles dumbly. "What can I do for you?"

"You could start by telling me why you decided to embarrass me in class," he says firmly, though not unkindly.

Eventually Rachel manages to collect herself and answer his question. "Don't take it personally. I just enjoy the spotlight. If I have to throw my peers under the bus in order to get noticed by my teachers, then so be it," she answers sweetly. "Besides, _I_ didn't embarrass you. You embarrassed yourself. Maybe you should have turned up on time, or stayed awake in class, or read the textbook before turning up. Or any combination of the three."

The tall boy is staring at her, his eyebrows furrowed in what appears to be confusion. "You're the strangest girl I've ever met."

Most girls would be offended by that comment, but Rachel's used to being called much worse than _strange_. So she just tells him she has to go to her next class and hopes that she doesn't end up sat next to the unbelievably handsome boy again. She only manages to walk about ten meters until he calls after her. "Do you at least have a name?" he asks.

"It's Rachel," she says without turning around, not wanting him to see the uncontrollable smile spreading across her face. Unfortunately it means she misses the adorable half-smile that creeps onto his own lips.

"I'm Finn," he shouts after her as she continues to walk away.

Rachel's almost skipping as she arrives at Musical Theatre 101 even though she's almost ten minutes late.

* * *

iii.

Finn arrives at his next US History class particularly early, not to avoid pissing off their lecturer (although that's certainly an added bonus) but because he's been wanting to see Rachel for the last four days, three hours and fifty-two minutes since they last spoke. Clearly he's going a little insane.

He's hiding behind the door and looking out for her down the corridor, hoping that he'll be able to slip into the auditorium right after her. It's a fool proof plan for getting the seat next to her again. Or at least it seems like it, until he hears her beautiful voice from behind him. "What are you doing?"

Finn turns round to see her eyebrows crinkled in confusion. It's adorable. "Were you hiding?" she asks, impatient for his answer, before peeking her head around Finn's large body to find out for herself what he was looking at.

"Erm, yeah..." he starts to answer, racking his mind for _any_ excuse as to why he'd be hiding behind a door. "From our US History lecturer. I forgot to write his essay."

She doesn't look convinced. "We're in his class next. Were you planning on spending the whole hour hiding under your desk?" Finn flushes in embarrassment. Usually he's pretty smooth with the ladies but, for some reason, he can't seem to catch a break around this girl. Not that he's trying to impress her or anything. "Besides, that essay's not due in 'til next Wednesday," Rachel adds. "So you're all good."

That, at least, is a relief. He's already struggling to balance his classes with football, especially now that he has competition for the position as second string quarterback. Missing _another_ essay deadline would have just added to his long list of problems. He rubs his hand over his head and blows out a deep breath.

Rachel obviously detects his anguish, since she makes him a proposition. "I can help you with it, if you want."

Inside, he's jumping up and down like a little boy because he's been waiting for a chance to spend more time with her but, on the outside, he decides to play it cool. "The last time you helped me, I ended up looking like a fool," he says, remembering the incident from their last class.

Rachel laughs and holds her hands up in surrender. "I guess that means I owe you then."

Finn can't figure out whether or not she's flirting with him, but he's not going to question it. He's also not going to tell her that he already started the essay and only has the conclusion left to write. In fact, he might just _accidentally_ delete it if it means getting to spend more time with Rachel.

* * *

iv.

Rachel looks flustered when she arrives at the coffee shop twenty minutes late. Her arms are full of bags and textbooks, so Finn gets up from his seat to help her. "Thank you. That's very chivalrous of you," she comments as he takes some of the books for her.

"Err... that's a good thing, right?" he asks uncertainly.

"Yes, a very good thing," she reassures him with a sweet smile. "I'm so sorry I'm late. My best friend turned up at my dorm room moaning about - and I quote - _'the douche who stole my place as second string quarterback.' _I tried everything to get him to leave but he didn't even respond to me threatening to shave off his beloved mohawk."

"Wait! You're friends with _Puckerman_?" Finn asks, slightly unnerved by the revelation.

"_Best_ friends. Have been since we were little kids," she answers casually. "How do you know him?"

Finn smiles wryly. "I'm the douche who stole his position."

Rachel's mouth drops open in horror as she contemplates how to backtrack from that comment. To her relief, Finn starts laughing and it's not long before she's laughing along with him.

She helps Finn with his essay, just like she'd promised (though she's not sure why, since he seems to already have a pretty good grasp on the material) and in return he pays for all her coffee refills. Once the work is done, they fall into an easy conversation about their friends and family, and their lives in general.

"So how did you meet Puckerman?" Finn asks curiously. Even though he barely knows either of them, Finn can already tell that Puck and Rachel are complete opposites, so their friendship is fascinating to him.

"We went to the same temple back in Lima. Our parents became close friends, so we practically grew up together from about the age of four. He's like the closest thing I have to a brother."

"That's cool. What about your other friends?"

She takes a quick sip of her coffee, trying to act casual, but Finn can tell that he's said something to upset her. "I didn't really have many friends at school," she tells him honestly. "I mean, I have my other best friend, Santana. She's here at OSU as well. But that's it really. What about you?"

She's trying to redirect the conversation towards him and, although he typically feels uncomfortable talking about himself, he's willing to do it if it makes her feel better. "I have a few good friends - Sam, Mike and Artie - but my best friend is my brother, Kurt. Well, he's actually my stepbrother. My mom married his dad when we were in eighth grade. It took a while to get used to having him around but, now I've got him, I don't know what I'd do without him."

"It's really sweet that you're so close with your brother," she comments, an adorable smile returning to her lips. It makes Finn feel better to know she's not so sad anymore. "What's he like?"

"Flamboyant," Finn says immediately, following it up with a chuckle. "But compassionate and brave. He's the bravest person I know."

When her smile widens, Finn starts to realize that that talking to Rachel is about the easiest thing he's ever done. For some reason, he feels completely at ease with her and he can only hope she feels the same about him.

* * *

v.

After their coffee/study date, Rachel and Finn start sitting next to one another in all of their US History classes. They're in a particularly boring class about the Treaty of Paris and he doesn't really understand it. He looks over at Rachel to see that she's scribbling away in her notepad and he hopes she doesn't mind explaining it to him later in more straightforward terms.

As he looks at her, a thought occurs to him. He pulls out a sheet of paper from his own binder and quickly writes his message before folding it up and passing it over to her beneath the desk.

_Wanna come to a party on Friday night? You could bring Santana too._

Finn and Puck had been accepted to the same fraternity early in October (the two of them had even become friends, though Puck pretended he was still mad at Finn) and they're having a big costume party for Halloween. She quickly writes down her reply and hands it back to him.

_Noah already invited us. I'm not sure though. It's not really my scene._

Rather than writing her back, Finn simply turns to her with pleading eyes and an adorable pout. It's so funny that Rachel snorts delicately as she tries to contain her laughter.

"Something funny, Miss Berry?" Mr Barclay asks from the front of the class.

"No sir," she answers, her cheeks flushing.

Luckily Mr Barclay doesn't question her further and goes back to teaching the class. Finn continues to pout until she eventually relents, holding up a piece of paper that says '_fine' _on it in large letters. She chuckles (silently) when he enthusiastically (silently) pumps his fist in the air.

~x~

The frat house is packed by the time Rachel and Santana arrive. Everybody around them seems to be drunk already and neither of them can see anyone they know. Rachel keeps craning her neck, knowing that her best bet is to try and spot Finn, since he's probably the tallest person she's ever met.

"I can't see Jolly Green anywhere," Santana shouts over the booming music. Just then, an inebriated girl nearly kicks the Latina in the face as she dismounts from a keg-stand. "Hey! Watch it, Lohan!" she screams in the girl's face just as Finn appears from behind them.

Finn sends the girl on her way and laughs at Santana, handing her a red solo cup. "Here, take this. It looks like you could use it."

The three of them move to another less crowded room in the fraternity house to find Puck and a bunch of sorority girls surrounding a large dining table, with pyramids of red solo cups set up at either end of it.

"Hey man," Finn says as he maneuvers through the crowd of girls to clap Puck on the shoulder. "I found them."

"It's about fucking time," Puck says as he turns to face his two best friends. His eyes widen in alarm as they land on Rachel. "The fuck you wearing, Berry?"

She looks down at the 'sexy nurse' costume Santana had forced her into. At her insistence, Santana had allowed Rachel to splatter herself in fake blood to make the outfit a little scary. "I'm a zombie nurse."

"I don't like it," he says bluntly. "I can practically see your ovaries."

Rachel rolls her eyes, exasperated with Noah's overprotective tendencies, just as Finn sidles up next to her. "Don't listen to him," he whispers so no one else can hear. "You look hot."

A blush suffuses Rachel's cheeks. It's the first time anyone has ever called her hot and to hear it from Finn makes it all the more flattering.

~x~

Rachel's never been to a college party before, so she has no idea how to play beer pong. However, after having Noah explain to her three times, she's finally got it. But just because she understands the rules, doesn't mean she's any good at it. Even with Finn on her team, they're no match for Puck and Santana. Luckily Finn's a true gentleman and is covertly downing her share of the cups every time their opponents look the other way.

Still, she's already had too much to drink and Finn keeps having to put his arm around her waist to make sure she doesn't fall over. She's not complaining though; she really likes Finn's hands on her body.

Soon the game's over - unsurprisingly Santana and Puck trash them - and Finn suggests that they all go out for some air. Santana has her eye on a blonde, leggy sorority girl named Brittany, so she says she's going to stay inside, and Puck tells them he needs to use the bathroom (Rachel suspects he's actually meeting a girl in there, but she decides not to ask). So Rachel and Finn end up going out to the front yard alone.

"I'm _soooo_ drunk," Rachel whines adorably as she spins around in circles on the lawn.

Finn chuckles as he holds his arms out, ready to catch her when she inevitably falls. "Come here," he says softly. She follows his voice and he wraps his arms around her just in time to feel her shiver beneath him. "You cold?"

She nods slightly into his chest. "A little," she admits.

Finn starts rubbing his hands up and down her bare arms, creating enough friction to warm her up a little. "Better?"

A contented sigh slips through her lips as she looks up to offer him a small, grateful smile. She's surprised to see that he's already staring down at her with an intensity in his eyes she's never seen before. "Rach," he whispers huskily.

"You know, you can kiss me if you want to," she tells him matter of factly.

He swallows hard before replying, "I want to."

Finn's already leaning towards her and she's closing her eyes in anticipation. Her heart is beating so furiously she worries it might burst out of her chest. There's just a few more centimeters between them; they're so close she can feel his warm, rhythmic breath against her lips.

Just as their lips are about to collide they are interrupted by a raspy, feminine voice that sounds familiar to Rachel, though she can't quite place it. "Finn?"

The moment is gone and, before Rachel can protest, Finn's untangling himself from their embrace to see who just said his name. "Quinn?" he asks disbelievingly as his eyes land on the pretty, blonde girl.

Hearing that name, Rachel finally realizes who is standing in front of them and steps out from behind Finn - whose large body is obstructing her view - to confirm what she already knows. "Quinn Fabray?" Rachel says in a small, shaky voice.

Quinn's eyes land on the tiny brunette girl standing beside Finn. After a moment of scrupulously studying Rachel's face, recognition dawns on her. "Rachel Berry," she sneers.

Finn's eyes dart back and forth between the two girls for a moment before they land on Rachel. "How do you two know each other?" she asks him, her voice getting caught in her throat.

He reaches out to touch her hand but before he has chance to explain, Quinn is answering for him. "I'm his girlfriend."

Tears well up in Rachel's wide, brown eyes as she contemplates running away. But her whole body is rigid, she can barely breathe and she doesn't think she could run if she tried.

"_Ex_-girlfriend," he corrects weakly, his eyes never leaving Rachel's.

A big, fat tear rolls down her cheek and, suddenly, she's extricating her hand from his grasp and walking away. She tries to ignore him calling her name as she speeds up to a jog, conscious of him hot on her heels. "Leave me alone, Finn," she wails as the tears pour freely from her eyes. To her relief, he stops following her.

She doesn't even bother getting changed or taking her makeup off when she gets back to her dorm room. Curling up in a ball, she cries herself into a restless sleep with thoughts of Finn invading her usually peaceful dreams.

* * *

vi.

Rachel spends the rest of the weekend locked securely in the dorm room she shares with Santana, not wanting to risk bumping into Finn by venturing into the outside world. Even though she knows she has to see him eventually, she's decided avoidance is the best tactic for now.

Unfortunately her secluded, Finn-free bubble is burst by a hesitant knock on the door first thing on Monday morning. She answers immediately without even considering who it might be.

The door swings open to reveal a sheepish looking Finn holding two coffee cups. She stares at him in silence as she wonders whether it would be unreasonable to slam the door in his face. He speaks before she has the chance. "Are you alone?" She nods the affirmative. "Can we talk?"

She's about to say no and actually slam the door in his face, but he's wearing the blue button down shirt she likes so much and she reasons that she wouldn't want it to get ruined by a coffee stain, so she slowly steps aside to let him pass.

"I'm so, _so_ sorry about Friday night, Rach. I promise Quinn's not my girlfriend. I mean, she was when we were in high school, but we broke up months ago. I don't even know why she turned up here," he starts rambling nervously before she's even closed the door.

"Finn, please stop talking," she requests as she closes her eyes and massages her temples with her pointer fingers. He goes silent immediately and she takes the opportunity to get everything she wants to tell him out in the open. "You remember I told you about the girl who bullied me my freshman year in high school?"

He nods his head in confirmation, obviously taking her request for him to stop talking quite seriously. "And I told you that Santana went _insane_ when she found out. I'd never seen her like that before, and I haven't since... But she beat the hell out of that girl and ended up getting herself suspended for two weeks."

Finn continues to stare at her blankly, unsure of why she's reminding him of this particular story. He remembers in perfect detail all the horrible things that happened to Rachel at the hands of this one girl and he distinctly remembers laughing when Santana told him about how she went _all Lima Heights_ when she caught her giving Rachel a slushie facial in the girls' locker room. But he doesn't understand the significance of it right now.

"Do you remember what happened to that girl?" she asks him.

"Yeah," he answers immediately. "She dropped out of school because she was so embarrassed she got her ass kicked by Santana and she transferred to a school in... _Oh,_" he utters as realization suddenly dawns on him._  
_

"Cleveland," Rachel confirms what he's already figured out.

They stare at one another in silence for a moment, neither one of them sure what to say. "I didn't know," Finn says softly, taking a few steps towards her. "That's not what Quinn told me." His hand comes up to cup her face lightly and her eyes flutter closed as he strokes his thumb over her cheek. "Do you believe me?" he asks, his voice laced with doubt.

Rachel opens her eyes to search his for any trace of a lie; she can tell that he's being honest with her. "Yes," she breathes. Finn releases an audible sigh of relief and, for just a second, she considers not saying anything else, letting it go, and continuing on as they had been doing before Quinn showed up. But she's Rachel Berry, and she's not very good at letting things go, and she's certainly no good at not talking. "But it doesn't matter," she tells him after a long pause, pulling his hand away from her face and moving away from him.

Confusion and hurt glimmer in his amber eyes and she can feel her resolve cracking again, so she continues quickly to stop herself from wrapping her arms around him and snuggling into his chest. "You _lied_ to me, Finn. I told you everything about me, _everything!_" Her voice gets progressively louder as she focuses on her rage, rather than her desire to just hold him. "And you kept this whole part of your life hidden from me. How am I supposed to trust you after that?"

"Rachel, _please_," Finn begs her - though he's not quite sure what he's begging for - in lieu of any real explanation. He knows now that she's right, that he should have told her about Quinn, but he hadn't been expecting his ex-girlfriend to show up and it just didn't seem important. "I didn't tell you because she _doesn't_ _mean_ _anything_ to me. It was a stupid high school relationship and it meant _nothing_. I swear."

"Well it meant something to her," Rachel says numbly, a stray tear rolling down her face. "And it means something to me."

"Please, Rachel. I can fix this. Just let me fix this."

"I'd like you to leave, please." Her voice is cool and detached as she moves to open the door. For a moment, it seems like he's not going to move, but she glares at him pointedly, and eventually he walks out of the room.

Once he's out of sight, she slams the door and collapses against it, wrapping her arms around her tiny frame in an attempt to hold together the pieces of her breaking heart.

* * *

vii.

It's a Saturday morning in January - over two months since Rachel kicked him out of her dorm room - when Puck bursts into their shared bedroom in the frat house. "Something's up with Berry," he says without even bothering to greet Finn first.

Finn hasn't spoken to Rachel since November. She stopped sitting next to him in US History and, after weeks of trying to apologize, he eventually decided to respect her request for space. To top it off, Puck had also given him the cold shoulder for a while but they'd (sort of) become friends again after Rachel reassured him that she was okay with it as long as she didn't have to see Finn.

So he's more than a little surprised - and concerned - that Puck's mentioning her now. "What's going on?"

"I haven't a fucking clue. I've barely even seen her for the last few weeks and every time I do catch her alone she comes up with an excuse to leave after about ten minutes."

Finn rolls his eyes. "Maybe she's just busy with classes and stuff. It's probably nothing."

Puck walks up to the desk and slams Finn's laptop closed. "You have to help me find out what's going on, Hudson."

Peals of laughter fill the room until Finn looks back at Puck, noticing the seriousness in his eyes. "You're not joking, are you?"

"_Fuck no_, I'm not joking. Berry's like my sister. It's my job to know where she is and what she's doing at all times."

"That's not crazy and stalker-ish in the least," Finn mutters sarcastically under his breath. A sharp smack to the back of his head tells him he needs to work on his inside voice.

"_Well_, what are you waiting for? Time to move your fat ass, Huddy."

Resigning himself to assisting Puck in his ridiculous quest to find out what Rachel's up to, Finn grabs his coat and follows him out the door.

~x~

Half an hour later, they're in Puck's battered old Mustang on a suburban street just off the university campus. Rachel's walking, so they're driving excruciatingly slowly to avoid overtaking her. "Dude, we look like a pair of curb crawlers," Finn says in frustration.

Puck raises his eyebrow incredulously. "As if anyone would think _I_ need to pay for sex."

They've just reached another corner when Puck notices Rachel stopping outside a modern-looking apartment building. She rings one of the buzzers and promptly pushes the door open. "Look, she just went into that apartment block."

"Terrific," Finn mutters dryly. "Now we've solved that mystery, can we please go back and play Halo or something?"

"Nope," he replies, cutting the engine. "We're going in."

An audible groan escapes Finn's mouth as he drops his head back against the headrest. "Seriously?"

"Seriously. Get out of the car!"

They can't get in to the apartment building because it's locked and Puck refuses to ring any of the buzzers because he doesn't want to blow their cover. Eventually a woman who has a key to the apartment building turns up and they casually slip inside after her.

"What do we do now then, genius?" Finn asks. He's more than a little frustrated with Puck and his poorly planned sleuthing. Not to mention he thinks it's a little creepy that they're following Rachel. Surely Puck could just _ask_ her where she keeps disappearing to. Maybe she has a friend in the building or something equally innocent. In Finn's view, it hardly warranted hiding in the bushes outside the Musical Theatre department until Rachel left and then following her half way across town. But they're there now and he decides he may as well help Puck out so that they can go back to the frat house (soon, he hopes).

He's looking at the mail boxes when his eyes land on a familiar name. _W. Schuester. _

After a moment of staring blankly at the name, trying to figure out _where_ he knows it from, Finn realizes Rachel's mentioned it before. When they first became friends, she talked his ear off about the magnificent Professor Schuester and Finn suspected she had a little crush on him. Even though he was never her boyfriend, it annoyed him no end.

Still, he changes his mind about helping Puck out with this. It's for the best that he knows _nothing_ about who Rachel is seeing and what she's doing with them. "Dude, I think this is a lost cause. Why don't we just go?" he says, trying to act as normal as possible.

Obviously he's a crap actor though because Puck can tell straight away that he's hiding something. "What you looking at there, Hudson?" he asks as he creeps up behind Finn and peers at the names on the mail boxes. Of course Puck doesn't recognize any of the names because, even though Rachel has no doubt told him all about Musical Theatre classes and Professor Schuester, he doesn't really listen to what she's saying about ninety percent of the time.

Finn sighs in defeat. He could continue to play dumb and fight Puck on this a bit longer, but he doesn't really see the point. Puck has that determined look in his eyes, the same one he gets when they're a few points down in a football match, that tells him he isn't going to leave until he has answers.

Finn tells him everything he knows about Schuester - which is admittedly not much - but Puck's already taking off up the stairs before he's finished. It's difficult to catch up because Puck's _fast_, especially when he's furious, and he's already charging like a battering ram into the door of Schuester's apartment when Finn gets to the right floor. The door swing open with a loud bang and, after that, everything happens so quickly.

Rachel's sitting on the counter top in the kitchen, wearing nothing but an over-sized men's t-shirt and a pair of knee high socks, legs wrapped around an even more scantily clad thirty-something-year-old male. Her eyes widen in horror, like a deer caught in headlights, when she sees Puck's mohawked head in the doorway. "Noah!" she growls angrily. "What the _hell_ are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," he retorts, nostrils flaring with rage as he takes a few strides to where Rachel and Schuester are still embracing. The curly-haired man barely has any time register what's going on before Puck is tearing him away from Rachel, and Rachel's squealing, and Puck's throwing fists at the dude's face. "You stay the fuck away from her. You hear me?"

Finn's never heard Puck shout so loud or aggressively and it shocks him into action. He runs over to kitchen and pulls Puck off the guy. Puck's kicking and thrashing around, trying to get out of Finn's stranglehold. It's times like this that Finn's thankful for the four inches and forty pounds he has on Puck. "_Let go of me_, Huddy. Let me kick his ass."

Rachel's crying into her hands, soft whimpering coming from low in her throat. "Just stop, Puck. You're upsetting Rachel."

She raises her big brown eyes to look at him then. He thinks he sees something akin to gratitude - or maybe even tenderness - shining in them... Then again, maybe it's just her tears. Even though she's crying, he can't help but think just how _beautiful_ she looks, and he manages to send her a soft, reassuring smile.

Slowly Puck starts to calm down. "Okay. But it's only because you're not worth another offence on my wrap sheet," he says through gritted teeth to the man still laying on the floor.

Finn lets go of Puck when he thinks he's calm enough. Puck grabs Rachel's arm - firmly, but not tight enough to hurt - and she tries to protest as he tows her towards the door. "No! I want to stay," she cries desperately, but Schuester doesn't even move or say anything. Maybe Puck's near-murderous rampage has made him reconsider dating his student. Finn thinks that's probably a good thing, but it doesn't stop his heart breaking for Rachel a little bit. He can tell she's devastated.

Rachel's still not wearing very much as Puck drags her out of the door, so Finn grabs her coat from a chair by the door (it's freezing outside) and runs after them. "Dude, you can let go of her now," Finn says sternly, a demand rather than a suggestion.

Puck releases her arm and Finn comes up behind her to wrap the coat around her shoulders. She doesn't say anything, just pulls the coat tighter as tears continue to pour down her cheeks.

* * *

viii.

Rachel isn't speaking to Puck. In fact, she isn't really speaking to anyone. She's just going about her day to day life like a zombie. It makes Finn sad to see her hurting so badly and he really starts to regret going with Puck to Schuester's apartment building.

The only good thing is that Finn manages to convince Puck not to report Schuester to the OSU board. They both know that Rachel's reputation would get dragged through the dirt in a scandal like that.

A few days later, Finn hears through the grapevine that Professor Schuester handed in his notice of his own accord. He's happy about it because he thinks the whole student-teacher thing is weird and he knows Rachel deserves better than secret liaisons at his crappy little apartment. But he also knows that Rachel's probably hurting, so he turns up at her dorm room with four of her favorite red velvet cupcakes (he did buy six, but ate two on his way over from the bakery).

He's nervous as he knocks on her door, knowing that there's a very good chance she might rip the box of cupcakes from his hands and throw them in his face.

What he's not prepared for is being greeted, not by Rachel, but by her feisty Latina roommate. Santana glares at him wordlessly before stepping out into the hallway and lightly closing the door behind her. "What do you want Frankenteen?" Her voice is icy as the January air.

"I just wanted to check that Rach is okay."

"She'll be fine. No thanks to you and Puckerman, of course."

Finn can't quite believe his ears. He thinks Santana is the most judgmental person he's ever met and he was sort of expecting her to be on Puck's side about this. In fact, he's surprised Schuester hasn't had a little visit from Snix. She's usually pretty eager to put the blades she keeps in her hair to good use (hell, she once sliced Finn in his sleep for borrowing her copy of the White Album and forgetting to return it). "You're not seriously defending that pervert, are you?"

That's probably the wrong thing to say, since she hisses at him, causing Finn to jump back in terror. "Of course I'm not defending him, you idiot. I'm defending _her_. I'm just as glad as you are that Schuester's out of the picture. I just think there might have been a better way to get rid of him... One that doesn't end with Berry crying into her pillow and playing _The Way We Were_ on a loop for four days straight."

Finn winces at that information. He's not surprised she's hurt, but he wasn't expecting anything so drastic. It stings a little bit to know she likes the guy enough to waste fours days worth of tears on him (he wonders how many days of crying _he_ was worth). "Can I see her please? I brought her favorite cupcakes."

"If anyone deserves cupcakes, its me," Santana snaps, snatching the box of cupcakes from his hands. "I've actually been _nice_ for nearly a hundred hours now. Do you have any idea how difficult that is for me?"

Finn rolls his eyes before nodding at the door pointedly.

"_Fine_," she huffs. "You can talk to Berry. But, I _swear to God_, if she starts crying again because of _you_, I'm gonna kick your ass into another time zone."

Santana disappears down the corridor (cupcakes in hand) to give Finn an Rachel some privacy. Hesitantly, he knocks on the door before cracking it open and peeking round the edge. When she sees him, she grabs the closest thing to her and tosses it across the room, aiming for his head. Luckily he catches it before it hits him, or the wall, or the floor, because it's the Statue of Liberty snow globe she got when she first visited New York at age nine. He knows it's her favorite and she'd never forgive him if she broke it trying to kill him.

"Rach," he whispers softly. "I just wanted to make sure you're okay."

At that, her frown deepens and she grabs the next closest thing to her - a Barbra Streisand biography - and throws that too. He tries to duck out of the way, but his reactions aren't quick enough and it hits him square in the face. It's hardback too, so it fucking _hurts_. "_Jesus Christ_, Rachel," he wails as he falls to the floor.

"You deserved that," she says coldly, staying firmly in the same position in the center of her bed, even as he rolls round on the floor in pain. "If your nose bleeds on my carpet, the clean-up costs are coming out of your bank account."

He can tell she's being serious so he swipes at his nose and, sure enough, it's bleeding. "Do you have some tissues I can have then?"

He wishes he hadn't asked because, just then, a box of tissues comes flying through the air and hits him right on the back of his head. "I didn't come here to have things thrown at me," he states calmly, turning to face her.

The corner of her mouth briefly quirks up into a half smile, before it fades away again. "I thought you came to cheer me up."

"I did."

"Well, this is working," she says bluntly, before tossing a Godiva Platinum Box in his direction.

"You could have at least saved me a chocolate," he grumbles as he pulls the lid off to find out that it's empty. "You know I love the cinnamon ones."

At that, she bursts out laughing and he thinks it might be the most beautiful sound he's ever heard. Forgetting about his bleeding nose, he starts laughing along with her, causing little spatters of blood to land on the carpet. For a second, he's worried she's going to yell at him, but she just laughs harder.

"Can we talk now?" he asks once she's recovered from her adorable giggling fit. She nods her head; he pulls himself to his feet and goes to sit next to her on the bed. "I brought you red velvet cupcakes but Santana stole them."

"That sounds about right," Rachel chuckles. The tension between them returns and they're both silent for a moment until Rachel asks, "Why did you come here?"

"You're sad... And that makes me sad." It sounds lame, even in his head, but it's the truth and he doesn't know what else to say. "I'm so sorry, Rach. Puck and I shouldn't have ambushed you like that."

"No, you shouldn't," she agrees solemnly. "But I do appreciate you stopping Noah from killing Will."

It's the second time he's heard her call him _Will_ and he doesn't like it one bit. It's too intimate for a student-teacher relationship.

"What's that face for?" she asks accusingly. Obviously she noticed him cringing or something.

"I'm sorry, it's nothing." Her pointed glare tells him she doesn't buy it. "I just don't think he's right for you."

"How would _you_ know? You know _nothing about him_." She's getting angry again, so he holds his hands up in front of his face in a protective way since they're now close enough for her to hit him. Not amused, she pulls his arms back down and glares at him seriously.

"I know _you_," he says honestly. "And I don't think being your professor's dirty secret is going to make you happy."

Her lips pucker in the adorable way they always do when she's contemplating something. He knows that she knows he's right, but she's far too stubborn to admit it. She shrugs her shoulders. "Well, it doesn't matter now, does it?"

A look of confusion crosses his face. "Why not?"

Suddenly she bursts into tears again and he instinctively moves closer to cradle her in his arms. "He's leaving, Finn," she sobs onto his shoulder (he doesn't tell her that he already knows that). "And I thought that maybe we could be together properly now. B- b- but -" - but her lips are quivering and she can barely speak - "he said he doesn't _want_ to be with me. He said the whole thing was a _mistake_."

Until this moment, Finn had sort of just assumed that Rachel Berry was unbreakable. He hates himself a little bit for not even realizing that she's just as fragile as everybody else.

What he hates the most is that he doesn't know how to make this _better_.

Almost as if she's reading his mind, she whimpers, "just hold me."

So he does.

* * *

ix.

Rachel and Puck make up eventually, after he hand delivers her favorite flowers (Finn swears Rachel only asked for flowers to mess with his bad boy image) and contractually agrees never to interfere in her relationships again. Their reconciliation makes Finn pretty happy because it means he gets to see more of her. They haven't really spoken a lot since she almost broke his nose with a book, but things are much less strained between them. She doesn't automatically decline when Puck invites her to the frat house anymore and she sometimes sits next to him in US History. Baby steps.

It's the night before Valentine's Day; Rachel and Santana are over visiting Puck and they've decided to order Chinese food and watch a movie. Apparently it's a tradition for them to have a special anti-Valentine's dinner the night before in protest against the over-commercialized holiday. "Why don't you do it _on_ Valentine's Day if you don't celebrate it?" Finn asks in confusion.

"Dude, Valentine's is like the perfect day to pick up chicks. I _have_ to keep it free in my calendar."

Finn rolls his eyes. Of course Puck would use what is supposed to be the most romantic day of the year to shamelessly hit on unsuspecting girls.

"Seriously dude, single girls on Valentine's Day are so desperate that_ even you_ could get some action. You should totally come to the Lonely Hearts dinner and dance with me tomorrow."

"I think I'll give that one a miss. Maybe next year," Finn says disingenuously, making Rachel giggle.

"Your loss, bro."

The first bars of_ Rose's Turn_ fill the lounge as Finn's phone starts ringing. "Well, at least now I know why you don't want to hit on drunk, single _girls_ with me tomorrow night," Puck quips.

Finn punches him _hard_ in the arm. "It's my brother's ringtone, asshole."

"Aren't you going to answer it?" Rachel asks when Finn makes no move to get his phone.

"Definitely not."

A concerned frown settles on Rachel's face (it's cute). "Have you fallen out?"

"No. I already know why he's calling. Every year, just before Valentine's Day, Kurt ends up 'breaking up' with his boyfriend. Now that we're in different cities, I can actually avoid drinking hot milk with him whilst he goes on and on about how much he loves Blaine."

"But what if he's upset?" Rachel asks.

"He'll be fine. They'll be back together by the 15th, I guarantee it. And honestly, I don't have much sympathy for him. Blaine loves Valentine's Day and Kurt hates it - thinks it's some over-hyped commercial bullshit, a bit like you guys - but he could just suck it up and go on a date or something... if only to make his own life easier."

The phone starts ringing again and Rachel moves to the coffee table to grab it before Finn can intercept her. "Don't you dare," he warns as her finger hovers over the 'accept' button.

She looks at him with an impish grin as she presses down on the button and raises the phone to her ear. "Finn's phone. Rachel Berry speaking," she answers in an unnecessarily formal manner.

Rachel wanders off somewhere, chattering happily to Kurt as she leaves the room. A part of him is a little pissed off that she answered the phone because he knows Kurt is going to have a billion questions about her once Rachel's done talking to him. But the other part of him is really pleased that she picked it up and that only grows when he hears her giggling out in the hallway. He knew Rachel and Kurt would get on.

She re-enters the lounge about an hour later with the phone still glued to her ear. She's missed most of the film but she probably doesn't care since Puck won the coin toss and they ended up watching _Tomb Raider _(according to Rachel, Puck and Santana only watch the movie to ogle Angelina Jolie). "Finn, your brother would like to talk to you," she says, holding the phone out to him.

Finn groans, but takes the phone from her nonetheless. "Hello, Kurt," he greets his brother as he gets up off the couch and Rachel immediately steals his place.

"_You have to tell me all about Rachel. She's delightful. When did you meet? How long have you two been dating?_"

Kurt's questions all seem to merge into one after a while, he's talking so fast, but at least all Finn has to do is throw in a few 'yeahs' and 'uh-huhs' every now and then. He doesn't even bother correcting him that Rachel _isn't_ his girlfriend.

Eventually he tells Kurt he has an essay to do so that he can hang up. He's already missed the rest of the film and he's sure Santana and Puck have cleared up all his chow mein and sesame prawn toast by this point. He doesn't want to risk missing out on Rachel's delicious chocolate chip cookies as well.

"I saved you some cookies," Rachel says sweetly, handing a plate to him as he sits back down on the couch between her and Puck.

"Good, because you definitely owe me."

"How so?" she asks, innocently batting her eyelashes.

His phone starts ringing then with the personalized ringtone for his mom. "That's why," he grumbles.

* * *

x.

Rachel's already in the seminar room when he arrives for US History class and he immediately slides into the seat beside her. He's finally found the nerve to ask her his very important question when their teacher starts talking. But if he doesn't ask her now, he knows he never will, so he leans over to her desk to whisper in her ear. She puts her dainty hand on his forehead and gently pushes him away, clearly not wanting to tarnish her reputation as the perfect student by getting caught talking in class. He stares at the clock for the rest of the hour, counting down the seconds.

"What did you want to say to me before?" she asks as they walk out into the hallway.

"I was just wondering if you'd like to come with me to Cleveland this weekend?"

Her eyebrows raise in surprise. "Why?"

"Well, it's my mom and Burt's five year anniversary, and Kurt decided he wants to throw them a big, formal party. There's going to be a band and a chocolate fountain and everything," he explains, trying to entice her into agreeing.

"So, you want me to be your date?"

Finn flushes and has to look away from her. "Erm, well, sort of. If you want. I mean... it's just... you spoke to my brother and now he really wants to meet you."

Taking a step in front of him and turning to face him, she places her tiny palms on his shoulders. "I'd love to," she says earnestly.

"Y- you would?"

She giggles at his reaction. "Yes, silly."

Rachel turns her back on him and starts walking down the hallway with a spring in her step, before she calls over her shoulder, "pick me up at seven tomorrow evening."

Finn stares at her retreating form, wondering what the hell just happened. He's totally excited for spending a whole weekend with Rachel and his family and friends from back home... But he's also pretty confused about the nature of their relationship now. Just ten weeks ago, he broke into her Musical Theatre professor's apartment and found her banging him on the kitchen counter (well, not actually _banging_ him, but pretty much). She hasn't mentioned Schuester to him in weeks and he's not sure if that means she's over him or not. Still, he finds himself looking forward to seven o'clock on Friday.

* * *

xi.

They arrive in Cleveland a little after ten pm. The drive doesn't usually take three hours but apparently Rachel has a really small bladder, so they had to stop at almost every service station along Route 71 so that she could pee.

His mom runs out to greet them as he pulls into the driveway and cuts the engine. Rachel's only just stepped out of the passenger side of the truck when Carole pulls her into a tight hug. "It's so wonderful to finally meet you, Rachel. I've heard so much about you."

Finn assumes his mom's been speaking to Kurt then, since he's barely said anything about Rachel. They're a very close family and they talk about most things, but his love life is one topic of conversation he tries to avoid. He knows from experience that Kurt can be quite judgmental and his mom has a slightly overprotective streak too. But, for some reason, he's not nervous about introducing Rachel to them. Maybe it's because she's not _actually_ his girlfriend. "It's lovely to meet you too, Mrs Hummel."

Finn clears his throat to get his mom's attention. "Oh Finny," she coos as she walks round to his side of the car. Throwing her arms around him in a rib-crushing hug, she speaks into his chest, "I've missed you so much, baby."

Carole tells them that there's some dinner plated up for them - she even made Rachel her own vegetarian lasagna - and that she's going to go reheat it whilst they bring their bags inside.

"Finny baby, can you help me with my bags," she teases, as she tries to grab the bright pink suitcase out of the bed of the truck.

"You can get your own bag if you call me that again," he warns her, but she just laughs and laughs and punches him in the arm.

* * *

xii.

After explaining that Rachel is just a friend, Carole makes up the spare room for her. She actually seems kind of upset that her son isn't planning on sharing a bed with the girl he's brought home for the weekend; Finn finds that a bit strange considering the strict enforcement of the 'no girls in your bedroom' rule he'd experienced during high school. He remembers being sentenced to three weeks hard labor at Burt's tire shop just for getting caught making out with Sugar Motta in there during his freshman year. The door wasn't even locked.

It's really late and Finn's just falling asleep when he hears a light tap on the door, shortly before it opens just a crack and a piercing light seeps in from the landing. He can make out her tiny frame as she approaches the bed. "Hey, Rach. You okay?" he asks.

"Yes," she whispers as she lifts up the duvet and slides into the bed next to him, curling into his side. Finn shivers as she presses her cold feet into his calves. He locks his arms around her as she buries her face in his chest. It feels nice to hold her so close, even if she is ridiculously cold. "Night, Finny," she breathes sleepily and he can't control the dopey smile that tugs at the corners of his lips.

* * *

xii.

Even though it's nearly April and the worst of the weather is over, it's pretty cold in the marquee. "Could you not have hired some heaters or something, Kurt?" Finn grumbles. Rachel's sat beside him shivering, even though he already gave her his jacket.

"Well, I would have done that if Dad hadn't been so stingy with the budget," Kurt responds dryly, casting a withering look at Burt.

"This bloody party's cost me almost as much as the wedding already, Kurt."

Kurt shakes his head haughtily as he wanders off to chastise one of the waiters for laying down smeared cutlery. Finn and Burt laugh fondly and Rachel thinks it might be the sweetest thing in the world. It's clear that they love Kurt - and all his diva tendencies - very much.

"You know, Finn, I have an idea of how you can warm up," Burt exclaims with a playful glint in his eyes. Finn and Rachel stare at him in anticipation. "You see that dance floor over there..."

"No. Absolutely not." Finn cuts his stepfather off before he even gets to finish the sentence.

But Rachel's already bouncing up and down in her seat in excitement. "Oh, please Finny. Can we?" she asks, all doe-eyed and adorable looking. Finn can't even be mad that she's taken to using his mom's silly pet name for him when she has her big brown eyes trained on him like that.

Eventually her cuteness overwhelms him and he backs down.

"I'm a terrible dancer," he confesses as he follows her over to the dance floor. "I'm pretty sure I actually have two left feet, my coordination is that atrocious."

He starts to move awkwardly and she giggles, grabbing his arms and shaking them in an attempt to get him to loosen up. "Come on Mr Quarterback, you can't have _that_ bad coordination."

"You have no idea," he groans, but starts wiggling his hips and shifting his weight from foot-to-foot nonetheless. Rachel presses her palm against her mouth to suppress her laughter. Whenever she does something new like that - makes a face or a sound that he's never seen or heard before - he's reminded all over again just how beautiful she is. "It's okay, you can laugh. I suck."

At that, she emits a high-pitched chorus of laughter that has her throwing her head back, face turning red and tears welling up in her eyes. "You are. You're _so_ bad at dancing. Like the worst," she admits in between taking huge gasps of air (she's almost hyperventilating at this point). An embarrassed flush suffuses his cheeks and she's quick to reassure him, "but it's one of the many things I like about you, Finn Hudson."

* * *

xiii.

The rest of their freshman year passes by uneventfully. Finn continues to hang out with Puck, and Santana, and Rachel. Sometimes he thinks he catches Rachel looking at him though - like when they're watching a movies or during particularly boring US History lessons - but he doesn't make too much of it. He's still not really sure where she stands with regards to their relationship, but he decides not to talk to her about it. Their friendship somehow still feels so _tenuous_, so _insecure_, that he worries it's going to break if he pushes too much.

Over the summer, he tries to keep his mind as clear as possible... tries not to think about her too frequently. Sometimes he can do that. When he's working on a car in Burt's tire shop or when he's hanging out by Mike's pool with his friends from school, he barely thinks of her at all. But when he's on his own with nothing to do and no one to speak to, he can't stop his mind from filling up with thoughts of chocolate eyes, glossy hair and knee socks. Some nights he texts her or calls her, just to find out what she's up to and to hear her voice. Sometimes she doesn't answer and he starts worrying; worrying that something bad has happened to her or that she doesn't want to be his friend anymore. She always messages him back eventually: _Sorry, I fell asleep, _or _forgot to take my phone today__, _or _was at a movie with Santana. _Even simple messages like those ones manage to brighten up his day.

* * *

xiv.

He's been back on campus for about four days when he gets her text message. _Meet me in Room 211 of the humanities building at 10 a.m. tomorrow. _Classes haven't even started yet, so he'd usually be in bed until at least noon, but he's so excited to see he that he'd probably meet her at 6 a.m. if she asked him to.

In fact, he's so excited that he even arrives early. He probably shouldn't be surprised to see her already waiting for him as he walks through the door of their old US History classroom.

"Hey, you," he says, snapping her out of whatever daydream she got lost in. When he reaches the desk she's sitting at, he crouches down to wrap his arms around her and she reciprocates enthusiastically. He can't see her face, but he can feel her smile against his shoulder.

"You're early," she says, tapping her watch as she pulls away.

"So are you," he laughs, before looking around at the empty classroom again. "Why did you want to meet here anyway?"

"Guess I was just feeling nostalgic," she admits with a small shrug of her shoulders. After a moment, she adds, "if you'd turned up late, like I was expecting you to, you would have made it just in time for our one year anniversary."

For a second, he doesn't understand what she means and he frowns in confusion. Then it dawns on him. "The day we met?"

She nods. "I was sat right here and you barged in just as Mr Barclay was telling us about the Civil Rights Act."

"Was that his name?" Finn asks seriously, which makes her laugh. "I missed him introducing himself."

It's been a whole year since she embarrassed him in their first US History class and, despite how messy things were between them for a while, Finn thinks it's been the best year of his life. If his timetable had allowed him to take Business 101, like he'd wanted, he might never have met her... So he's actually kind of glad he got stuck in a really boring class with a teacher that hated him. He tells her this.

"You really do suck at History," she says with a fond chuckle.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, this was going to be an epic one shot, but it started getting out of control so I'm going to split it into several parts instead. I'm guessing there will probably be about four chapters of approx. 10 000 words, though it could be longer if I get a really positive response.**

**Anyway, please review because reviews make me super happy and encourage me to write quicker. YAY!**

**Love to all of you beautiful angels that made it this far xox**


	2. Part II

**I reiterate, Glee ain't mine. Please don't hate me for this...**

* * *

xv.

They win their first game against the Buffalo Bulls, 40-20.

No one's particularly surprised by the victory but it's still kind of a big deal for Finn. Last year's first string quarterback graduated, which means it's his first game as a starter. He's awarded MVP in the locker room afterwards and he doesn't think he's ever felt this good after a game. Sure, his whole body aches and he's probably the sweatiest he's ever been (at least until he has a shower, that is), but winning just reminds him that football is the love of his life. Well, one of them.

They're walking back to his truck - Finn, and Puck, and Rachel, and Santana - and Rachel's looking at him like he hung the moon or something.

"You were so good, Finn," she croons. "Like the best."

Puck clears his throat to let her know he's offended by that.

Laughing excitedly, she takes a running jump onto Puck's back, wrapping her legs around his waist to support herself and affectionately ruffling his still damp mohawk. "You too, silly," she reassures him.

It's stupid, but Finn's kind of jealous that Puck has Rachel's bare thighs clamped around him.

"You don't know anything about football," Santana teases with an amused smirk.

"I know that when Finn does the _Single Ladies _dance, it means he did something good," she protests, sticking her tongue out at her best friend.

"Which reminds me," Santana says, turning to face Finn, "you really should come up with a less _lame_ touchdown dance."

Finn grins because, even though she mocks him pretty much all the time, he knows Santana counts him as a friend. He's actually sort of flattered since Santana hates almost everyone except for Rachel, Brittany and Puck. Overcome with a sense of pride and triumph, Finn throws his arm casually around her shoulder, tugging affectionately on her side braid as he does.

It takes him by surprise when Santana punches him (kind of hard) in the stomach. "Do that again and I'll aim a bit lower," she warns as he clutches his lower abdomen. Finn still hasn't gotten used to the unpredictable bouts of violence but he actually finds her feisty attitude really cool.

* * *

xvi.

Things sort of go to shit around Halloween (that seems to be a pattern). Once again, there's a frat party and Rachel and Santana are invited. They just hang out, drink beer and punch, play air hockey, and Rachel even manages to convince Finn to dance for a bit. Well, Finn stands there bobbing up and down as Rachel, Santana and Brittany dance around him like he's some sort of human sacrifice.

After a while, he loses Rachel. He gets caught up trying to convince Santana that she should try out for the cheerleading squad and, next time he looks round, Rachel's no longer next to him. It's really crowded and she's really small, so it takes him ages to find her and he starts panicking by the time he gets to checking all the bathrooms.

Eventually he finds her - perfectly safe and talking to some guy he's never seen - in the kitchen. "Rachel, I've been looking for you everywhere," he says exasperatedly, not caring that he's completely interrupting her conversation.

"I've been here the whole time, silly," she replies without a care in the world. In one hand she has a red solo cup, filled to the brim with a purple-colored liquid (he's not even sure what the lethal concoction is), and she's using her other hand to hold herself up against the kitchen counter.

Finn looks pointedly at the guy Rachel's standing with and she quickly realizes they haven't been introduced. "Oh, uh, this is one of the TAs in my dance class," Rachel explains. "His name's Brody."

The guy, _Brody_, holds his hand out for him to shake. Finn stares at the outstretched hand for a moment; he doesn't really want to shake it - he can already sense that this guy is a douche - but he also doesn't want to embarrass Rachel in front of a TA, so he takes Brody's hand and gives it one very firm shake. He hopes it conveys his message loud and clear: _do not_ fuck with Rachel.

Oblivious to the tension, Rachel wobbles back and forth on her heels as she finishes her introductions. "Brody, this is my... my... Finn. I mean... this is Finn," she slurs. His heart does this funny thing where it seems to skip a beat. He knows it doesn't mean anything because she's drunk (and he's wondering how she got that way because, last time he saw her, she'd only had half a cup of punch) but he smiles because she just called him '_my_ Finn'.

He's brought back to reality when she continues babbling on. "Finn's my friend, my _very good_ friend." Hearing that feels a lot like Santana punching him in the gut. Being friend-zoned sucks.

The night wears on slowly with Rachel blathering on about how Brody's tango is the best she's ever seen and other (equally boring) stuff. Finn can't even remember how many beers he has had when people start clearing out in the early hours of the morning. Rachel's still pretty wasted too and Brody offers to take her home (he hasn't been drinking because of the calories). Finn offers her his bed because he really _doesn't_ like the idea of Brody going back to her dorm room, but Rachel has some dance rehearsal early in the morning and she hasn't got any clothes with her.

In a last feeble attempt to cock block the dancing douchebag, he tells him he should offer Santana a lift as well. But she's staying at Brit's, so it appears Finn is shit out of luck.

He tells Rachel to text him as soon as she gets back, just to let him know that she's safe. It takes over an hour for her message to arrive, even though the dorms are less than a ten minute drive away, and Finn can't sleep a wink. He considers calling her but he guesses she just fell asleep and she gets agitated when people wake her unnecessarily. So he just lays there worrying silently as Puck snores in the bed beside him.

When he finally get the text, it's nearly 4 a.m.

_Got back safe and sound. Sleep tight._

* * *

xvii.

"I hate him," Santana roars as she comes storming into the frat house, duffel bag slung over her shoulder. It's become such a frequent occurrence that neither Finn or Puck react to it anymore. They continue to watch the Clippers-Nets game on the TV and Puck winces as the Nets' shooting guard misses a jump shot.

Once Santana is in the kitchen and out of ear shot, Puck turns to Finn. "You do realize she's sleeping in your bed tonight, right?"

"Why mine? She's already slept in my bed twice this week and it's only Thursday," Finn moans.

"Well, if you hadn't offered her your bed the first time this happened, she wouldn't have gotten into the habit of making us sleep on the couch."

Rachel started dating Brody about a week after the Halloween party and, over the last four weeks, Santana's impromptu sleepovers have become more and more regular. Apparently Rachel can't stay at Brody's place because she doesn't get on with his roommate so, more often than not, Santana gets home in the evening to be greeted by Brody's sweaty sock hanging off the doorknob.

Santana sits down next to Finn on the couch with a bottle of cold beer. She still looks kind of pissed off, so no one speaks to her for a moment. After a few swigs of beer she seems to have calmed down a little. "I still don't understand why you can't stay at Brit's," Puck says eventually.

Santana glares at him. "She has a roommate. And, since I know how it feels to be _banished_ from your own dorm, I don't feel comfortable turfing her out."

"Yet you don't mind making Finn sleep on the couch," Puck mutters sarcastically.

"Hey, I've already come up with a perfectly good solution to all of our problems, but he refuses to go on even _one_ double date," she protests, sending an accusing look in Finn's direction.

"I've told you, I'm not interested in meeting Tina."

Tina is Brittany's roommate that Santana has been trying to set him up with for the last two weeks.

"I still don't understand how forcing Hudson to date some Asian chick is going to do any good," Puck says without taking his eyes of the TV. "Mind you, it certainly wouldn't do him any harm to get some action."

Finn leans over to punch him in the arm as Santana starts to explain her master plan for about the tenth time. "If Finn starts hooking up with Tina, she can stay over _here_ in his room. Then I'm free to stop with Brit as often as I like. Problemo solved."

"And where the hell am I supposed to sleep if Huddy's gonna be defiling her in _our_ room?"

"That's not my problem, Puckerman."

"Well, it doesn't matter anyway because I'm not dating Tina," Finn reiterates.

"Come on, Finn," Santana pleads with him. He knows she's desperate because she's actually using his name, rather than one of a number of sort-of-mean nicknames she's chosen for him (Frankenteen, Man Boobs, Finnessa, etc.) "It'll be fun. She's really cool and I think you'd really like her. Plus, you'd get to go on a date with _three_ super hot girls."

"Jesus Christ, dude. If you turn this down, you're a bigger idiot than you look. That's an offer no straight guy would ever refuse. And, if you say no, I'm totally in, Santana." Finn tries to ignore both of them but they're incredibly persistent and he's starting to consider just agreeing to go so that Santana can't pester him about it anymore.

"Absolutely not. She's for Finn," Santana shrieks.

"Why? He doesn't want her," Puck protests.

"Because I wouldn't set up Tina with a _sleazeball_ like you. I actually want this relationship to last more than forty minutes."

They're speaking so loud and fast that Finn can no longer hear the commentary on the television. In fact, he can barely even think straight and he just wants both of them to shut up. In a moment of despair, he yells, "Fine, I'll go!"

He regrets the words before they've even finished leaving his mouth, but Santana is instantly on the phone to Brittany and he wonders whether there's any way he can feign illness on the day of the date. He just doesn't really see the point in dating right now because he's so busy with classes and football. And maybe he's just a little bit heartbroken. Of course, he hasn't told Santana because he's pretty sure her response would be _"man up"_ or something equally unsympathetic.

So he just grits his teeth and attempts to smile when Santana informs him that they're on for Friday.

After all, how bad can one date be?

* * *

xviii.

They're sitting at a table in Gino's, this little Italian restaurant a few miles from the OSU campus. Apparently Santana read somewhere that the food is really good. Brittany and Tina haven't arrived yet, so Finn's tapping his foot impatiently and fiddling with the buttons of the new shirt Santana bought him for the occasion.

"Pack that in. It's annoying," Santana demands sharply as she digs her stiletto heel into his foot. "And stop messing around with your shirt. You look great."

It's rare for Santana to pay anyone a compliment, but he doesn't dare tease her about the slip up for fear she might dig her heel in a little deeper. "I don't know why I agreed to this," he grumbles, taking a sip of his water. "Is there really no one else you can palm this girl off on?"

"Quit being such a Negative Nancy. Do you really think the only reason I want you to meet Tina is so you can provide full room and board for her when I want to stay at Brit's?"

Finn shrugs. He hadn't really given much thought to _why_ Santana was so determined to get him to date her friend.

"Well, it's not. If you tell anyone I said this I will cut you, but you're actually one of the few people on this god forsaken planet that I don't completely hate-"

"Gee, thanks," Finn mutters sarcastically, earning him Santana's token bitch-stare. He holds up his hands in surrender as a signal for her to continue.

"The point is, I'm fed up of seeing you moping around over Rachel. She's dating horse-face Ken doll now. Does it suck? Yes. But life goes on. And I really _do_ think you'll like Tina. She's so sweet it makes me want to barf, but that seems like a quality you'd find appealing in a girl. So, _please_, just give her a chance."

Finn's just about to answer, but Santana gets distracted when Brittany comes clattering through the door noisily. Behind her is a petite Asian girl with long, wavy hair. Finn can't see her face at first because she'd not looking in their direction. But as she approaches their table, Finn notices that she's pretty. Like _very_ pretty. And she seems to get even prettier the closer she gets. She has this incredibly cute smile that seems to make her whole face light up.

"Hey, you two," Brittany says in her usual chirpy manner. "Sorry we're late. I was skyping Lord Tubbington and he wouldn't let me leave."

Santana giggles and stands up to greet her girlfriend with a sweet kiss. It actually kind of warms Finn's heart to watch them interact. If anyone else was late to meet Santana because they were too busy video-chatting with their overweight pet, she'd probably go nuts and start shouting at them in Spanish. But it's almost as if Brittany can't do anything wrong in Santana's eyes.

"Hey, Tina. this is my good friend Finn," Santana explains (it reminds him of when Rachel introduced him as her_ very good friend_ to Brody, except this time it doesn't feel like having a knife rammed through his heart). "Finn, this is Tina."

For a moment, he thinks he's going to make himself look like an idiot because he doesn't really know the protocol as far as blind dates go. Is he supposed to shake her hand? _Too impersonal_. Or maybe he should hug her? _Too creepy_. Eventually he settles for saying: "it's really nice to meet you," as he leans down to kiss her very lightly on the cheek. He pulls out the chair opposite his for Tina and she sits down with a smile on her face.

"It's nice to finally put a face to all the stories Brit and Santana have told me about you as well," she replies.

"Stories?" Finn asks, a look of panic flashing in his eyes.

Tina giggles sweetly before reassuring him. "Don't worry. They were all good."

Much to his surprise, Finn finds himself having a really fun night. Tina is really nice and she's also super cool, so he's not too worried about her getting obsessed with him like Quinn did. Plus, they have a few things in common. He finds out she's a big Eric Clapton fan when her phone starts ringing _Tears in Heaven_(she apologizes profusely for the interruption and hangs up without even answering, which he likes because it means she has good manners). And she actually understands football, so they talk about that for a bit. Finn's favorite thing that they have in common is that Tina also thinks Brody is a douchebag. She's a Musical Theatre major, though she doesn't know know Rachel because - like Brittany - she's a year older. But Brody is a TA in her dance classes as well and apparently he's arrogant and vain.

Eventually Finn decides to change the subject because he doesn't actually want to think about Brody or Rachel, or Brody _and_ Rachel. For once he just wants to think about himself... and maybe Tina as well.

* * *

xix.

One morning at the beginning of February, Finn finds Tina's phone under a pile of clothes in his bedroom and he realizes she must have forgotten it in her rush to get to class. He knows how anxious she gets when she doesn't have it with her, so he decides to go over to the Musical Theatre Department to return it and have lunch with her since he doesn't have classes until the afternoon.

As he walks across the quad towards the building, he's startled by a familiar voice calling his name from close behind. Upon turning round, he's greeted by Rachel's smiling face. "Finn, hey," she greets him a little breathlessly. "I haven't seen you in _ages_."

"Yeah, I know. It's crazy right." He feels kind of bad for not spending much time with her anymore. After she started dating Plastic Man (as Finn has taken to calling Brody), he was so pissed off and upset that he just sort of started avoiding her for a while. Rachel would call him a few times a day at first. Most of the time he'd just let it go to voicemail and, on the rare occasion he did pick up, he'd come up with an excuse to avoid her. Since they no longer have any classes together, it became quite easy to go a week (and then two weeks, and three, and four) without seeing her at all. Then he started seeing Tina and he couldn't figure out how Rachel fitted into his life anymore. He realizes it would be a mistake to tell her that because it would really upset her - and he can't stand to hurt Rachel anymore because, for some reason he can't quite understand, that makes _him_ hurt - so he makes up a string of generic excuses. "I mean, I've just been so busy with training and... frat stuff. And, you know, then it was Christmas."

Of course, she sees right through him. "You mean you've been busy avoiding Brody... And me."

He doesn't say anything but he can feel his face heating up, so that's probably confirmation enough. Rachel looks down at the ground and he wonders if she's really sad that he's not in her life so much anymore. Mostly he doesn't want her to be because the thought of Rachel being sad is awful and it makes his heart ache a little bit. He's not quite sure what it means that he's so invested in her happiness. Would he care so much if Puck was sad? Or Santana? Artie? Mike? Sam?

But sometimes he fantasizes about her missing him and he kind of wants her to hurt so she knows how he felt when she blew him off for life-sized Ken Doll. After those sadistic thoughts have passed, he usually feels really guilty for wishing any suffering on her.

All of a sudden, she interrupts his wandering thoughts. "So... what brings you to this part of campus?"

Just as he's about to explain, the answer comes running up behind him. Tina hops onto his back, covering his eyes with her tiny hands, and pulls his head back so that she can kiss him firmly on his mouth over his shoulder.

"Oh, Puck, I had no idea you felt that way about me," Finn teases with a wide smile. Tina slaps him playfully on the shoulder as she dismounts and uncovers his face. "You know it's risky business sneaking up on someone and kissing them? I could have been any old pervert, but you wouldn't have known because you couldn't see my face."

"Babe, please. I've not seen any other six foot three guy with a butt as cute as yours on this campus," she replies, cheekily pinching his ass to emphasize her point.

At that, Rachel clears her throat loudly, clearly uncomfortable with the PDA taking place in front of her.

"Oh, hi," Tina greets in confusion as she becomes aware of the other girl's presence.

Rachel smiles tightly back at her.

An embarrassed blush spreads across Finn's cheeks right to the tips of his ears as he introduces the two girls. Tina recognizes Rachel's name, as she replies with: "Rachel? As in Santana's friend, right?" But, other than that, both Rachel (both the name and the girl herself) seems to mean very little to her. Finn supposes it's better that way. Like, at least she doesn't say: "Rachel? As in the girl Finn used to be crazy about?" Because that would make things super awkward.

"So, what brings you here?" Tina asks Finn. "Not that I'm not happy to see my wonderful man."

"Um, well, you left your phone," he explains, pulling the cellphone out of his pocket and handing it to her. "And I just thought we could grab lunch together or something. You too, Rach, if you like?"

After he's extended the invitation, he realizes how stupid the suggestion is. In fact, he can't think of anything more unpleasant than having lunch with the girl he thinks he might have been in love with and the girl he's currently dating.

Luckily, Tina solves the problem. "Thanks for bringing my cell, babe. I didn't even realize I'd left it. But unfortunately I can't do lunch. Emergency choir meeting," she says with a frown. "I'll make it up to you later."

She whispers the last part in his ear, but the grimace on Rachel's face makes him think she probably heard the flirty comment anyway.

Tina kisses him on the cheek and tells Rachel that it was lovely to meet her; then she hurries off across the quad.

"So, I guess it's just you and me for lunch?" Finn nervously shoves his hands in his pocket, waiting for her response.

"I'd really like that," Rachel agrees sincerely with a thousand watt smile on her face. For a second, it's like his heart has stopped beating, and the world has stopped revolving, and everything in the universe that isn't Rachel has ceased to exist. Because she's still the most beautiful girl he's ever seen in his life. And that kind of scares the shit out of him.

It takes him a second to gather his wits when she tells him she knows a delicatessen just down the street that does delicious sandwiches. But eventually he snaps back to the presents and says, "that'd be great."

Talking to Rachel is just as easy as it always has been. That is, until the conversation turns back to their respective partners.

"So, Tina seems nice. Have you been seeing her long?"

Finn picks at the label on his water bottle and tries to avoid her gaze. "Yeah, she's incredible," he agrees, because she really is and he knows how lucky he is to have a girlfriend as great as Tina (which only makes him feel even guiltier for having all these messed up feelings for Rachel). "We met before the holidays but we only really got together properly a few weeks ago."

Rachel nods her head in understanding. "Does she know about us?"

The question strikes a nerve. It bothers him that she has the audacity to ask that when _she's_ the one who dumped his ass for the Living Mannequin. He's overcome with the sudden desire to hurt her a little bit, just to level the playing field. "There's nothing to know."

It's not nearly as satisfying as he thought it would be to see her eyes fill up with tears. In fact, it just makes him feel like the most awful person on Earth. Stubborn as ever, she refuses to let him see her cry. So she stands up, picks up her bag, and hurries out of the delicatessen without saying another word. For a brief moment, he considers following her but he doesn't even know what he'd say to her. So he sits there with his head in his hands, wondering how everything got so screwed up.

* * *

xx.

It's Brittany's twenty-first birthday over spring break, so a bunch of people head over to Pittsburgh for a rager at her parents' house. They've agreed to go away for the weekend so that she has the house to herself. There's too many people to fit into one car, so they all split up. Brit's spirit squad friends hire a mini-bus, but none of them feel confident driving it. Naturally, Puck offers to chauffeur the twelve very attractive, athletic girls. Which leaves Santana, Tina and Rachel in the car Finn has hired (since his truck only comfortably fits two, three at a push). Finn's a little on edge because he hasn't seen Rach since the day he pissed her off at the delicatessen. Plus, he's more than a little concerned she might 'accidentally' let slip to Tina that they have history._  
_

What actually happens is a million times worse. He's just throwing his, Tina's and Santana's bags in the boot when Rachel arrives, Brody in tow. "You don't mind if Brody rides with us, do you?"

Finn contemplates telling her the car's already full, since he's afraid every other passenger will end up in therapy (or prison, in Santana's case) after four hours in an enclosed space with Brody. But he suspects Rachel's just trying to get a rise out of him and he resolves not to give her the satisfaction. "Of course not," he says, smiling tightly.

Santana audibly groans. "I call shotgun then. Sorry Tay Tay, looks like you're riding bitch," she adds, pulling Tina away from the front passenger side just as she's about to get in.

"No way Santana. _My_ boyfriend's the one driving, so that's like automatic shotgun."

"No such thing as 'automatic shotgun', I'm afraid. So get in the back."

"Finn, tell her!" Tina demands.

They aren't even in the car yet and Finn's already at the end of his rope. He knows he should tell Santana to get in the back and quit bitching, but it's quite clear that if she ends up in the back, she's going to spend the next four hours in a foul mood and probably plotting ways to kill him in his sleep. "I don't care. Sort it out yourselves."

That doesn't go down too well and a full-blown argument breaks out. Eventually Finn comes up with a solution that's (almost) satisfactory for everyone; that is, Santana and Tina switch places every time they stop at services, which is going to be at least four times with Rachel and her ridiculously small bladder in the car.

The journey isn't much better for it. Rachel, as suspected, spends the journey dropping not-so-subtle hints about her history with Finn. He keeps trying to change the subject because Tina's becoming visibly agitated, but Rachel's equally determined to stay on topic. On top of that, she's staring at him intensely in the rear view mirror. He's pretty sure she's trying to harness her mental power to, like, make him spontaneously combust or something. Admittedly, he is starting to feel a little _hot _under her gaze. That, combined with the fact she's wearing a low-cut blouse that gives him the perfect view of her cleavage, has already got him at half-mast. He's more than a little annoyed that she has that effect on him even when they're in a cold war.

* * *

xxi.

The party's still in full swing, music blaring and booze flowing freely, when Finn steps outside onto the deck to get some fresh air. After Finn admitted to Tina that he and Rachel sort of have a romantic history, she proceeded to get so wasted she passed out in Brittany's room. As for Santana, Puck and Brittany, he can't find any of them and can only assume they're all getting lucky.

Light footsteps alert him to the presence of another person, but he doesn't bother turning round to find out who it is. "Where's Tina?" Rachel asks as she sits down next to him. They're sitting so close together that her shoulder is very nearly brushing against his arm.

"She's asleep. Think she had a little too much to drink. What about Man Candy?"

Rachel rolls her eyes at the derogatory nickname. "We got into a fight," she states bluntly.

"Why? Did he use all your moisturizer again?"

She laughs in spite of herself. "If only. He's actually upset about you."

"Me? I've been perfectly civil with him."

So that might be overstating a little. It's quite obvious he's been giving Brody the cold shoulder from the moment they got in the car. In fact, it's kind of been a running theme since they first met.

Rachel eyes him skeptically before explaining: "he thinks there's something going on between us."

"Do you want me to tell him that there isn't, or something?" Finn asks, not understanding what she wants from him.

She takes a deep breath before answering. "No. I want you to tell me if there is."

There's no simple answer to her question and both of them know it. He suspects there's always going to be _something going on _between them but, after all of the arguments and the heartache, he's started to wonder whether they are _meant_ to be together. "My heart keeps telling me that I want you, but it seems like the universe is determined to keep us apart," he explains honestly.

Tears silently trickle down Rachel's cheeks. "I don't think it's the universe that keeps getting in the way. I think it's _us_."

Finn cups her cheek with his palms and gently brushes away her tears with the pads of his thumbs. "We really fucked up, didn't we?"

Usually she'd tell him off for using such crass language, but she simply nods in agreement. "I'm sorry," she chokes out between sobs.

"Hey, what are you sorry for?" he asks in a soothing voice, combing his fingers through her silky hair.

"I was so scared. Just... so terrified by how much I was _feeling_. The last time I felt _so much_, I ended up getting my heart broken. And I... I didn't want it to be like it was with Jesse."

Finn can barely understand what she's saying because she's talking really quickly, the way she always does when her brain is working so fast that her mouth can't keep up. But the mention of her douchey high school ex sets off alarm bells in his head.

"I'm not Jesse. I would never hurt you like that."

When they were really close friends, Rachel had told Finn all about her first boyfriend. They met in a music store when she was in sophomore year and started dating straight away. Jesse was on a rival show choir team, so they were forced to keep their relationship secret. Rachel was so infatuated that she gave him her virginity and even agreed to transfer schools so they could be together properly but, the week before the Regional Show Choir Championship, Jesse and his Vocal Adrenaline teammates ambushed Rachel with eggs in the school parking lot. Needless to say, she was devastated and humiliated to find out he was just using her to destroy the competition.

"I _know_... but I'm still scared. You wouldn't even understand how it feels to have your heart broken like that."

With just one sentence, he goes from sympathetic to infuriated (he thinks it's probably unhealthy that he's so volatile around her) and he's standing up from his spot on the deck and throwing his hands up in the air. "God, Rachel. You're so fucking self-absorbed sometimes."

"Excuse me?" she asks incredulously, her face freezing into a horrified expression as the tears immediately cease to fall.

"It's like you can't even see how_ in love with you_ I am," he blurts out in his rage. "It _broke my fucking heart_ when you chose Brody over me."

Her jaw goes slack and her eyes widen in shock. "You love me?" she utters dumbly.

It's not exactly how he imagined he'd tell her that for the first time. He'd assumed they'd be going steady in a relationship (with one another, rather than other people). It's not a happy or romantic moment either, like it's supposed to be. But he can't take it back.

So he moves back to where she's sitting and kneels down in front of her so that their foreheads are very nearly touching. "I do. I love you, Rachel Berry," he whispers softly against her lips. "I love you, so fucking much."

Suddenly he's aware of her arms around his neck, and her hands buried in his hair, and her lips pressed against his. It's unlike any kiss he's ever experienced before, filled with passion and pain. Her lips are moving desperately against his, as if she's trying to take in as much of him as she possibly can. Even though his brain is screaming that it's all _wrong_, his lips work of their own volition. He returns the kiss just as hungrily, teeth clashing, tongues battling for dominance, as he lowers her onto her back and presses her against the wooden slats.

She wraps her legs around his waist to pull him closer, mewling into his mouth when she feels his jean-covered hardness press against her lower abdomen. Sliding her sweater off her shoulder, he trails hot kisses across her jaw and down her neck, nipping lightly and then soothing the marks with his tongue. "_Finn_," she moans wantonly, and he bites down harder in response.

They're so lost in their _want_ for one another that neither hears the heavy footfalls approaching from the patio doors. "Well, well, what _do_ we have here?" Puck asks, alerting them to his presence.

Inherently fearful that Puck might beat the crap out of him, Finn moves away from Rachel instantly. Luckily, Puck is wearing a roguish smirk. It's probably because Rachel looks so self-conscious, blushing profusely as she smooths down the skirt that's ridden up over her otherwise bare thighs. When she stands to meet Puck's gaze, he clears his throat and nods towards her partially unbuttoned sweater. She gasps almost theatrically and crosses her arms over her chest as she runs back into the house.

Once she's gone, Puck starts laughing.

"You didn't have to embarrass her like that," Finn states simply.

"You didn't have to maul her on Brittany's patio, but it didn't stop you."

Puck's witty retort does nothing to ease Finn's internal conflict. On the one hand, he feels ashamed of himself for cheating on his girlfriend and basically dry humping Rachel in someone else's garden. Yet, he can't bring himself to regret anything that just happened between them. So he hangs his head and remains silent in the hope that Puck drops it.

Unfortunately Puck has no intention of doing that. "You know this is fucked up, right?"

Finn sighs and drags his hand through his disheveled hair. "Yeah, I know."

"I'm no expert on relationships or anything, but I'm pretty sure Tina wouldn't be okay with that."

"Are you planning on lecturing me all night? 'Cause I'm going to need a beer if you are."

Puck grins impishly and passes Finn an unopened bottle of Budweiser. The two friends sit with their legs hanging over the raised deck, drinking their beers in silence for a while. Soon, Puck's curiosity gets the better of him. "So... How far did you get?"

Finn smacks him round the back of his mohawked head.

* * *

xxii.

Santana arrives at the dorm room just in time to see Brody kiss Rachel on the cheek as he leaves. Never one to be disingenuous, she turns her nose up in disgust. It doesn't go unnoticed by Rachel. Once Brody's out of sight and the door is shut, Santana bluntly asks, "what the hell was he doing here?"

"You know, you could at least _try_ to be a little nicer to him," Rachel suggests calmly, without even looking at her best friend.

"And you could try dumping him and dating someone who isn't a total _douche_."

Rachel rolls her eyes liberally and attempts to change the subject. Since Brittany's birthday, Santana's disdain for Brody and her determination to get Rachel to break up with him has increased tenfold. She suspects it's because Puck's filled her in on what he saw in Brittany's back garden, but Santana's being unusually indirect about how much she knows. It hasn't stopped her making snide remarks in front of Brody though.

She's just about to get to work on an essay when Santana plugs her iPod into the dock, the first notes of Rihanna's _Unfaithful _blasting through the speakers. After a verse and half the chorus, Rachel walks across the room and disconnects the mains plug. "_Hey_! I was listening to that," Santana complains.

"No you weren't. Now, please can you tell me why you're mad at me?"

"I'm not mad." Rachel raises her eyebrow and starts tapping her foot, impatiently waiting for Santana to explain. "I'm just... confused."

"What are you confused about?"

"The meaning of life; credit card interest rates; daylight savings," she says casually before getting to the crux of the matter. "Why you and Finn aren't together yet?"

"I thought _you_ were the one who set him up with Tina in the first place."

"I did. Tina's awesome... But _you_ are my best friend. Which means _your_ happiness is the most important thing. I know I've kind of been a bitch to you lately, but it's only because I have love for you. And sometimes I don't know how to express that love."

"I understand," Rachel says solemnly. "But, Santana, you've got to understand how confused _I_ am, as well. I don't know what's going to happen between me and Finn in the future but, right now, I can't handle it. I can't handle feeling so... so... vulnerable. If I'm ever going to achieve my dreams of stardom, I _need_ to be unbreakable."

The expression on Santana's face is one of utter bafflement. Clearly she doesn't get it. But, after a moment, her face softens and she sighs. "I've got to say, I think you're being crazy. But, like I said, you're my best friend... So I'm going to try and be more supportive."

Rachel smiles and throws her arms around her best friend. Their relationship has been somewhat strained ever since she started dating Brody and it feels good to finally reach a point of understanding. "I actually have something I need to talk to you about," Rachel says a little sheepishly.

"Oh, _sweet Lord_, please do not tell me you're pregnant."

Rachel laughs. "No, it's nothing like that. But... um, Brody's roommate is moving out next year and... well... he can't afford to live on his own. So... he sort of asked me to move in with him."

"You've got to be kidding me," Santana says incredulously. "I'm being Punk'd."

"Don't start, Santana," Rachel pleads. "You said you were going to respect my choices."

"No, no. I said that I'm going to try not get up your ass about Finn as much. That _does not_ mean I'm okay with you _moving in_ with Misogynist Ken."

Santana tries to convince Rachel that moving in with her plastic boyfriend would be a total disaster, but she's already made up her mind. As of the coming fall semester, Santana needs a new roommate.

* * *

xxiii.

Looking back, Finn isn't entirely sure how he got to this point. It's the beginning of his junior year of college and he's lugging boxes filled with handbags, shoes and other girly crap up three flights of stairs into a tiny two-bedroom apartment. After what happened at Brittany's house last spring, he was sure that his relationship with Tina was living on borrowed time. Then Santana turned up at the frat house, fuming because Rachel had decided to move in with her plastic boyfriend. In a second, both his heart and his vision of the perfect junior year were shattered. He started arguing with Tina a lot, just because he had no one else to take his anger out on and, to be honest, he still doesn't know why she didn't dump him then. But she didn't and he somehow ended up agreeing to move in with her, Santana and Brittany. He doesn't think he's as enthusiastic as he should be about it.

"Cheer up, Lumps," Santana says as she walks past him in the apartment. "It's a whole new school year."

Fortunately she's the only one of his flatmates that has picked up on his somber mood.

* * *

xxiv.

He's just finished at football practice one evening when he remembers he left his truck on a different part of the campus, so he says goodbye to Puck and a few of his other teammates and heads over to the parking lot outside the student union. It's pretty late - around eleven o'clock - so he's surprised to see that there's still one other car in the lot. When he gets a little closer, he can see that it's a light blue Toyota Aygo and he's sure he recognizes the license plate. He looks in the back window and, as he suspected, there's a gold star bumper sticker there. The boot is so full that the window is completely covered and Finn can't see into the car.

He's just heading back to his own truck, which is parked further down the lot, when some slight movement in the front of Rachel's car catches his attention. It's really cold outside and the windows of the car have fogged up, so he has to press his nose right up against the glass to see, but he's sure there's someone in there. He taps on the car window a few times until the engine roars to life and the window opens just a crack. "Who's there? You should know that I have a rape whistle," Rachel says, her voice fraught with distress.

"It's just me," he replies. "Let me in. It's freezing out here."

She lowers the window a little more, so that they can just see one another. An expression of utter confusion spreads across her face. "Finn? What are you doing here?"

To his great relief, she leans across to open the passenger side door for him. "I was just coming back from football practice when I saw your car in the lot," he explains as he gets in and slams the door. That's when he notices the mountain of pillows and duvets surrounding him. He can't see much of Rachel because she's buried up to her neck - except for her mitten-covered hands - but she's definitely wearing a woolly hat. "What's going on in here?" he asks, looking around the car to see boxes piled up in the back seat.

Rachel's lip starts to tremble, which means she's about to start crying. "Brody and I broke up."

Even though she's currently living in a car, he can't pretend to be too upset about the break-up. "When?"

"A few days ago," she tells him, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"You know, you really shouldn't be sleeping in your car. It's dangerous and cold. Why didn't you call Santana or Puck?"

She laughs humorlessly. "Really? You think I'd call 'Tana just to have her say _'I told you so'_, or Puck, who handles everything with his fists."

He wants to contradict her - because he knows Santana and he's pretty sure she wouldn't gloat like that, under the circumstances - but she already looks pissed off and exhausted, so he decides to keep his mouth shut to save her the effort of an argument. "You could have called me."

"I know I could have. I thought about it," she admits despondently. "But I don't _deserve_ your compassion. I don't deserve anything from you anymore."

They stare at one another in silence for seconds that seem to stretch into hours. He wants to be mad at her, to tell her she's right that she doesn't deserve him. Maybe he even wants to hate her a little bit for making him love her so much. But he doesn't hate her, and he _can't_ hate her. "Come on. You're staying at our place... Just until you find somewhere else to go."

"Will Tina be okay with that?"

Finn shrugs. "She'll get over it."

It's pretty much impossible to drive Rachel's car considering the amount of crap she's crammed into it (he still can't figure out why girls need so much _stuff_), so he tells her to grab a few essentials and they drive back to the apartment in his truck. She's quiet all the way there and he likes the stillness he feels when she's around. He focuses on the rhythm of her soft breathing.

When they walk through the door of the apartment, some sappy-looking rom-com starring Drew Barrymore is playing on the television. Santana has fallen asleep at one end of sofa, whilst Brittany and Tina are sitting at the other end munching on popcorn. They both greet him without taking their eyes off the screen when they hear the door slam.

Rachel's looking up at him with wide, fearful eyes, but she doesn't say anything. So Finn clears his throat to get Tina and Brittany's attention. They turn round simultaneously, four eyes landing on the tiny girl standing in front of him with her suitcase. "Rachel's staying with us for a few nights," Finn explains, without leaving any room for argument.

Brittany squeals excitedly and jumps up from the sofa to embrace Rachel, waking Santana up in the process. "What's going on?" she asks, disorientated from her sleep.

"Apparently Rachel lives here now," Tina fills her in, sounding less than pleased. Finn can only hope that Rachel's too busy listening to whatever Brittany's saying to hear. It dawns on him that living in an apartment with _four_ hormonal women is going to be much more challenging that it was with three. He's not too worried about Brittany, since she's pretty easy-going, but Santana can be a bitch at the best of times and the tension between Tina and Rachel is palpable.

"How come?" Santana asks. Rachel recounts about as much of the story as she's already told Finn. He's slightly disappointed that he doesn't find out any more of the details, like who did the dumping and _why. _Santana and Brittany seem sympathetic and are more than happy to put her up until she can find a more permanent home. Tina continues to watch the television screen in an obvious attempt to ignore Rachel completely. Finn squeezes in next to her on the sofa and tries lace his fingers with hers a few times, but she keeps pulling her hand away and eventually he stops trying.

Once the film has finished, Finn finds some spare blankets and pillows for Rachel and leaves her to sleep on the sofa. Everyone else is in their bedrooms already. He stands outside his own bedroom door for a second and takes a deep breath, bracing himself for the argument that he's inevitably about to have with his girlfriend.

She's already curled up in a ball under the duvet when he goes in. After stripping down to his boxers, he slides into the bed and wraps his arm around Tina, only to have her push it away. "Come on, T," he murmurs. "I'm sorry I didn't check with you first before telling Rachel she could stay."

"I want her gone in the morning," Tina demands bluntly.

"Don't be unreasonable. I'm not kicking her out on the street."

It's not long before the conversation spirals out of control and they're shouting at one another. "I'm not being unreasonable, Finn. I don't want your ex-girlfriend living on _my_ couch."

"She's _not_ my ex-girlfriend!" he shouts back at her, certain the everyone in the apartment - and probably the neighbors - can hear everything that they're saying. "I don't understand what your _problem_ is."

"My problem is that you're in love with another girl and you've moved her into _my_ apartment," Tina shrieks, tears streaming down her face. He tries to calm her down, to convince her that he's not in love with Rachel, but mostly he's just trying to convince himself.

She pushes him away when he attempts to put his arms around her and tells him she doesn't want to sleep in the same room as him tonight. So he grabs the pillow from his side of the bed and a blanket that's barely big enough to cover his legs, and walks out. He's just gotten himself settled - though not exactly comfortable - on the couch Rachel _isn't_ sleeping on, when a muffled voice comes out from under her covers. "Are you okay?"

He stares at the ceiling and takes a few deep breaths before answering. "I will be."

"You know, you can talk to me... If you want."

Usually he'd take her up on that offer because, to her credit, she is an incredibly good listener and always gives useful advice. But he doesn't really want to talk right now. He just wants to forget. "Go to sleep, Rach."

* * *

xxv.

Days pass, then weeks, and Rachel's still living on their couch. Apparently it's more difficult to find accommodation in the middle of semester than one might think; but Santana and Brittany aren't in any rush to get rid of her anyway. Tina, on the other hand, couldn't be more unhappy about the situation. Most nights she stays at the Musical Theatre Department until after everyone else has gone to bed, under the pretense that she's rehearsing for the winter showcase. If Finn's still awake when she slides into bed next to him, sometimes he'll try to initiate a conversation about how her day has been. It usually escalates into an argument, so most of the time he keeps his mouth shut and pretends to be asleep.

It's right near the end of semester when things fall apart. There's a party at the frat house to celebrate some freshmen's initiation and everybody is there. Finn asks Tina to go with him, but she tells him she's tired and decides to stay at the apartment on her own. Finn isn't drinking because he's the designated driver; he soon realizes that parties aren't as fun when you're not even _a little_ buzzed. Fed up of being jostled in the crowd and girls throwing themselves at him, he heads out into the garden. It's so cold that no one is out there, except a couple of stoners. He sits down in one of the patio chairs and tips his head back to look at the stars and breathe in the frigid air.

Out of nowhere, he feels a hand squeeze his shoulder. His head whips round in surprise, only to realize it's just Rachel. "Are you okay?" she asks, as she sits down in the chair opposite him.

He sighs deeply, rubbing his hands over his face. "No, not really," he admits. It's a relief to finally get it off his chest, instead of smiling and pretending that everything's normal when it isn't. "I'm just so exhausted. Classes and football have been kicking my ass."

Rachel nods her head knowingly, like she can tell there's more to it than he's letting on. It's almost impossible to hide anything from her; her many years of acting classes have endowed her with the ability to identify a person's thoughts or feelings by even the subtlest facial expressions and mannerisms. "You know, I can move out if it would make things easier for you."

"What? No, don't be silly," he protests weakly. It definitely _would_ make things easier if Rachel wasn't around, but his dissatisfaction goes deeper than the arguments he's been having with Tina.

"I can hear you arguing at night, you know?" she confesses, seemingly unfazed by the sensitivity of the topic. "I feel like I'm constantly ruining your life."

"You haven't ruined my life. Sure, you broke my heart... like, twice. But you aren't responsible for my problems with Tina."

She bows her head in shame. "How can you say that?"

"Things have been kind of messed up for a while. I guess it was just easy to avoid the issues when you weren't there."

They're silent for a while. It's not the sort of awkward silence you get when you've just met someone, but you have nothing in common with them, so you just sit there picking your nails or pretending to send a text. It's the silence that comes with familiarity, when you know someone so well that it's like you're talking without even making a sound. With Rachel, words somehow seem gratuitous.

Still, there's one last thing he needs to say.

"I don't think I want to be with Tina anymore."

He's been thinking about it a lot lately; almost constantly, in fact. It's been weeks since they went out on a proper date, just the two of them. He can't even remember the last time he laughed (like, _really_ laughed) or had a meaningful conversation with her.

The pointlessness of his own relationship is all the more obvious when juxtaposed with Santana and Brittany's blissfully happy one. Sometimes he notices them playing footsie under the dining table when they think no one's paying attention. And when Santana refuses to order dessert because she doesn't want to put on weight, Brittany reassures her that she's beautiful and feeds her spoonfuls of her own dessert. The other day, he heard Santana playfully arguing with Brittany on the phone over who should hang up first. On the surface, all those things seems sappy and stupid... But maybe that's what being in love is like.

Finn tells Rachel about it because he knows she won't laugh at him. "I mean, was it ever like that for you and Brody?" Part of him doesn't want to know her answer, in case she says 'yes', but his intrigue gets the better of him.

"No. Never," she admits, her eyes downcast. Clearly feeling self-conscious and wanting to get back to the matter at hand, she asks, "what are you going to do about Tina, then?"

Honestly, he doesn't know. It's not like he can just break up with her because they live in the same apartment, so he'd have to find somewhere else to live and he doesn't even know whether Santana, Brittany and Tina would be able to afford the rent between the three of them. But he can't _stay_ with her either, else they're just going to end up hating one another and he really doesn't want that. He wants Tina to be happy; she really, _truly_ deserves that. But she's never going to be happy with him.

~x~

They get back to the apartment in the early hours of the morning. All the lights are off and it's silent when they walk through the door. Santana and Brittany go straight to bed, but Rachel decides to make a pot of tea before going to sleep and Finn joins her. His cellphone battery is nearly dead though, so he pops through into the bedroom to grab his charger first. Not wanting to wake up Tina, he switches on the little lamp on the dresser, only to realize she's not in the bed. He checks the bathroom to see whether she's in there, but it's empty. Just as he's about to leave the bathroom, he notices that her toothbrush isn't in the holder. He starts calling her with the last little bit of battery life he has, but she isn't answering. Back in the bedroom, he opens the closet and drawers. Everything's gone.

Tina is gone.

The panic washes over him as he starts calling her cellphone over, and over again. He leaves frantic voicemail messages begging her to call him back and even contemplates calling the police. It's not long before Rachel realizes that something is seriously wrong and she too starts looking round the apartment for any clues as to where she might have gone. "Finn," she calls from the living room. Immediately he goes through to find out what is going on. Rachel's standing at the coffee table, looking down at a white envelope with his name written across it in Tina's neat cursive. He picks it up and tears it open, pulling out the letter.

_Finn,_  
_I can't do this anymore. __Sorry.  
__Tina._

That's it. _I can't do this anymore_. Five words and it's over. He shakes the envelope to see if there's anything else. Something falls out onto the floor with a metallic clang. He bends down to pick up her key to the apartment.

Rachel looks like she can't figure out what's happening, so he passes her the piece of paper. Her eyes scan over it quickly and he's immediately in her arms. "It's okay, Finn," she murmurs softly in his ear as they fall onto the sofa. "I'm right here."

Tears start to pour down his face and Rachel strokes his hair soothingly. He should feel upset, angry, confused. He should want to kick over a chair and cry himself to sleep, and then not eat for days. But he's kind of past feeling any of those things. He's consumed with one emotion.

Relief.

* * *

**A/N: I was so overwhelmed by the response to the first part of this. I don't think I've ever gotten so many views and reviews for one chapter. It really made me smile, so thank you!**

**I hope you don't hate me for this chapter. Even though it focused largely on the Finn/Tina and Rachel/Brody relationships, I hope you got the sense that these relationships were much more about Finn and Rachel and their feelings for one another... not so much Tina and Brody. Don't fear though. I'm officially done pissing about with other relationships! It's all Finchel, Finchel, Finchel from here... **

**(Oh, and more Puck because I missed writing him this chapter).**

**Please, please review. It absolutely makes my day to read your feedback. ****So much love to all of you who don't want to kill me (and even those who do). You're the best! xox**

**P.S. Please be patient with Rachel. Her redemption is coming.**


	3. Part III

**Glee is not mine. You asked for happy Finchel and you're about to get it. Seriously, hold onto your hats...**

* * *

xxvi.

By the time Christmas break arrives, Finn is entirely ready for it. The semester's over and most students have already returned home for the holidays, but the football team had to stick around for practice. He's just stuffing the rest of his clothes into a suitcase when Rachel saunters in holding two steaming mugs of cocoa. Even though her classes ended weeks ago, she'd decided to stay for Hanukkah so that Puck wouldn't have to celebrate the holiday alone. Santana and Brittany are in Pittsburgh and Rachel's father's are on a cruise, so it's not like she has much to go back to in Lima anyway.

Taking in the mess surrounding her, she places the mugs down on the dresser and rushes to his aide. Humming a tune he doesn't recognize, she carefully folds his t-shirts and puts them back in his suitcase. Finn can't stop himself from staring at her, mesmerized by her every movement.

She must catch him watching out of the corner of her eye because she starts blushing self-consciously. "What is it? Do I have something on my face?" she asks, rubbing at her nose to make sure there's nothing there.

He chuckles at how adorable she is before assuring her that there's nothing on her face. "I'm just thinking about how grateful I am to have had you around these past couple of weeks. I don't think I could have gotten through it without you."

After basking in relief for a few days, he became crippled with guilt over the break up with Tina. Though he knew it was for the best, it didn't stop him from feeling bad for her having to leave the apartment. It didn't help that Brittany was kind of pissed off at him about it. She'd outright refused to speak to him at first, but she seemed to forgive him when he returned home with a brand new cat condo as a gift for Lord Tubbington.

Rachel, however, is the one person who never made him feel any worse about his role in ruining the relationship. She'd just been really supportive, offering advice and listening to him vent.

"It was nothing," she brushes off the compliment. "You did it for me... And so much more."

Finn senses the conversation heading into depressing waters, so he goes to the dresser to pick up the cocoa. "I think we've both had enough doom and gloom for one year," he says, handing one of the mugs to Rachel and holding his own out in salute. "To new beginnings."

"New beginnings," she says brightly, chinking her own mug against his.

* * *

xxvii.

The Hummel-Hudsons have a party on New Year's Eve and all his friends from high school are there. Kurt is drunkenly throwing himself at Blaine, squealing about how he _'needs his midnight kiss from his hunky boyfriend'_ even though it's only half ten. With the exception of Finn - who has a relatively high tolerance for alcohol, probably because of his size - everyone's pretty wasted by the time midnight does roll around and 2013 fades into 2014.

As fireworks fill the sky, the music keeps playing and the champagne keeps flowing. All the party-goers are kissing one another; it kind of freaks him out when Kurt tries to plant one on his mouth. Mercedes is laughing at the two brothers as Finn holds Kurt at arm's length. "Maybe we should put Colonel Von Boozy to bed," she suggests, but Kurt protests and goes back to grinding against Blaine.

His phone vibrating in his back pocket distracts Finn from even fighting his brother on the matter. Pulling it out, he smiles at Rachel's name lighting up the screen. Mercedes gives him a knowing wink as he mooches off into a secluded corner to pick up the call. "_Finn!_ Happy New Year!" Rachel squeals excitedly as soon as the line connects, before dissolving into giggles. She starts talking - slurring, actually - about the _amazing_ party she's at with Puck and Santana. It seems Puck has invented some pink cocktail that Rachel apparently can't get enough of. When she starts singing Auld Lang Syne down the phone, he realizes she might actually be more drunk than Kurt. After her impromptu performance, she asks him, "who was your New Year's kiss, Finny?"

"Uh, well..." he stutters, embarrassed that the closest he came to getting a New Year's kiss was a sneak attack from his brother. Rachel's goading him for an answer though, asking him whether it's someone special. He thinks she might even sound a little worried about that. Eventually he tells her what happened and hopes she's so drunk she won't remember in the morning.

Trying - and failing - not to laugh at his expense, Rachel confesses that she shared a midnight kiss with Santana. He's just glad she hasn't been kissing other guys, to be perfectly honest. It's not like they're dating or anything - he thinks they probably both need to decompress after the last year - he just doesn't want her to date anyone else. 2014 is going to be their year, he's sure of it. They just need a little time.

"Do you want to know a secret?" she asks conspiratorially. Not giving him chance to answer, she quickly adds, "I imagined it was you."

"Was there tongue?" he asks playfully, to which she responds with an equally jovial 'shut up'.

He's kind of weirdly flattered. Of all the people she could be thinking about whilst she's kissing Santana, she's only thinking about him. And then when she's done making out with her best friend (okay, so they probably weren't making out, but that's how he's imagining it went down), she immediately calls him... Like he's the only person in the world she wants to ring in the New Year with.

* * *

xxviii.

When they get back to OSU in January, there's a lot to sort out. Rachel's _finally_ managed to get herself a dorm room and she's pretty happy not to be sleeping on a couch, even if her new roommate is somewhat terrifying. The only problem is that Finn, Santana and Brittany are now splitting the rent on the apartment three ways instead of four, so it's going to be more expensive. Finn offers to move back to the frat house and help them find a couple to live in the second bedroom, but Santana is resolutely against that idea.

"Absolutely not. I'm not having a pair of freaks living in this apartment with us." Finn tries to interject that they might be able to find a nice couple, but she continues on her tirade before he can speak, so he just stands there opening and closing his mouth like a goldfish. "With Rachel and Tina gone, our utilities are going to be like half as much. It won't even cost much more than living in the dorms. And if you and Brit can't afford that, I'll use my college savings to pay Tina's share of the rent."

"You can't do that," Finn protests. "That's _your_ money."

"Yes, and mi madre did not spend eighteen years saving up for my college education, only to have me end up living with a pair of sex fetishists. You're staying!"

He decides that it's not worth getting on Santana's bad side and ends up backing down. It's nice because Santana and Brittany never make him feel like the third wheel or anything, and Rachel and Puck often come over as well.

Finn and Puck are watching Sports Center one afternoon when Rachel comes bursting into the apartment looking mildly annoyed. "What's up Berry-ade?" Puck asks in a tone that suggests he doesn't really care, but knows Rachel will get angry if no one asks.

"_Lauren Zizes_," she spits out scornfully. "She's _always_ around. I can't get a damned thing done in my dorm room."

"Well, you're never around 'cause you're always over here, so... I don't see the problem," Finn volunteers, without taking his eyes of the scores to notice she's glaring at him.

"That's besides the point."

"Why don't you just get Puck to take her off your hands then?" Finn suggests jocularly. He suspects Rachel is being just a tad melodramatic, so he's not going to take the matter too seriously.

"Yeah, I'd be happy to do that," Puck says without a hint of irony. "She sounds like a pain in the ass. You know how that turns me on."

There's a wicked glimmer in her eyes as she says, "I might just do that."

Finn's final thought: _this can't be good._

* * *

xxix.

Rachel sends Puck over to her dorm room to meet Lauren one evening, whilst she hangs out with Santana, Finn and Brittany. They're watching _Grease _because Rachel won rock, paper scissors, though Finn can tell she's not exactly concentrating on the film. She keeps shuffling about every few minutes and her eyes are darting back and forth between the television and the door.

They're right near the end - the part where Sandy turns up wear her sad clown hooker outfit, as Finn calls it - when Puck shows up. His mohawk is a little ruffled, the top few buttons on his shirt open, and he appears to be out of breath. Finn can only assume that means he hit it off with Lauren.

Rachel jumps up from her seat immediately, not paying the slightest bit of attention to Santana, who's yelling at her in Spanish because she's standing in front of the TV. "So?" How did it go?" she asks interrogatively.

Puck sighs deeply, leaning back against the closed door. "I think I'm in love."

Santana immediately hits the pause button on the remote and the room falls into complete silence as four pairs of eyes land on Puck. "Excuse me," the Latina says incredulously. "Could you just repeat that? I don't think I heard you right."

"I'm in love," he reiterates, the three words unmistakably clear. "With Lauren Zizes."

"No! _No!_" Rachel shrieks, pacing across the living room floor. "You can't be_ in love_ with Lauren Zizes. You must have the wrong girl."

Finn's kind of confused by Rachel's sudden change in attitude. A few days ago she was telling Puck that he really must meet Lauren because she's _just his type_ (not difficult; Puck's type seems to be anything with breasts and a pulse). Now she's acting all crazy pants because her match-making actually worked? He's obviously missing some information.

Puck goes on to explain the whole story: how Lauren basically ravaged him as soon as he walked through the door and proceeded to insult him on his frenching abilities. How that's a turn on, Finn will never understand, but it seems to have Puck all hot under the collar. "Bottom line is, she's a bigger bad ass than I am... And she's a _whole_ lot of woman."

"Understatement of the century," Rachel mutters under her breath as she fiddles with her phone. Handing the device to Santana, she says, "_that_ is Lauren Zizes."

Coca-Cola spurts out of Santana's mouth and nose, her eyes widening in horror. Brittany rubs her soothingly on the back as she, too, leans over to look at Rachel's phone. "Let me look," Finn says, suddenly overcome with curiosity.

Rachel takes the phone off of Santana and hands it to him. The Facebook App is open, displaying a photo of a dark-haired, bespectacled girl, who appears to be on the larger side and is wearing an expression of pure disdain. Needless to say, she's not exactly Puck's usual type. Wanting to know more about this Lauren Zizes, Finn goes back to her profile. Apparently she's part of the wrestling team and the AV club, and enjoys 'listening to screamo' and 'being a bad ass'.

"I'm telling you, she's changed me," Puck says. "I need to get her to go out with me... On Valentine's Day."

"I thought Valentine's Day was for shamelessly hitting on depressed, single girls?" Finn reminds him. "And I distinctly remember you giving me a free pass to punch you in the junk if you ever changed your mind about that."

"Yeah, I remember that," Brittany agrees. "Your exact words were: _'punch me in the junk if I ever get a Valentine's date'._" It was last year when everyone blew him off to be with their respective partners the night before Valentine's Day.

Despite Santana's threats to castrate him if he doesn't come to his senses, and Rachel's pleas for him to join her in boycotting Valentine's Day, Puck pursues Lauren until she agrees to go out with him on a pre-date on the evening of the thirteenth, in preparation for the actual Valentine's date. Santana and Brittany are also out for the thirteenth and fourteenth, since Santana's gift to her girlfriend is a romantic spa retreat.

"Looks like it's just you and me for the annual Valentine's boycott, then," Rachel says to Finn the weekend beforehand.

"_Just you and me,_" he echoes wistfully, biting back a smile.

* * *

xxx.

Their Valentine's (non-)date is just like any other evening at the apartment, with Chinese takeout and the full first season of _Game of Thrones_. It's still nice though, comfortable and familiar. There's no manufactured romance or unrealistic expectations. No rose petals, candles or champagne.

Rachel's curled up at one end of the sofa - wearing a pair of yoga pants and a hoodie, her hair tied up in a messy bun - stuffing another egg roll into her mouth. And Finn can't stop looking at her.

"Do you want one of these?" she asks once she's swallowed her food. "They're to die for."

He tells her she can finish them and turns back to face the television, hoping that she didn't notice him staring.

Twenty minutes in to episode five, the lights and TV suddenly flicker off so that they're left in total darkness. "Finn. What just happened?"

"It's probably just a fuse or something. I'll go check it out," he assures her. On his way to the fuse box, he goes to the window and pulls back the curtain. The lights on the rest of the street appear to be out as well. "Okay, it's not a fuse. Let me just go find some candles."

He bumps into a table, two chairs and trips over a rug in his search for the candles and matches. Once they're lit and the apartment is illuminated with a soft glow, he moves back to the sofa to sit down. "How long do you think the power is going to be out for?" Rachel asks.

"I don't know. But you should probably stay put until they come back on."

There's not a whole lot to do in the dark, so they find themselves talking about the most inane things until the early hours of the morning.

"Here's a good one. If you could have any super power, what would it be?"

"Firstly, that's not a good one. It's an incredibly obvious one," he says. "Secondly, I'd want to be invisible."

"Firstly, you're an ass," Rachel retorts haughtily, which makes him laugh. "Secondly, you're such a pervert. I bet you only want invisibility so you can spy on girls getting changed."

"Actually, I'd want to be invisible so that I could play epic poltergeist pranks on Puck. If I were a perv, I'd want x-ray vision."

They go into depth over the many ways they could meddle with Puck and the virtues of having different super powers, until Finn decides to ask her a different question.

"Would you rather: never watch a Barbra Streisand movie again, or never have sex again?"

She chews on the inside of her cheek as she mulls it over, like her life depends on the answer to this question. It's kind of adorable, the way she over-thinks things.

"Does that include... like, no oral?" she asks him to clarify.

He tries his best to banish the thoughts that are starting to bombard his mind, but he's already growing hard at the visual of his head between Rachel's legs. Pinching his eyes shut, he conjures up the image of the mailman. He hasn't had to do that in years - _arriving early_ isn't a problem for him anymore - but apparently his body is particularly sensitive to Rachel. When he opens his eyes again, she's looking at him with a baffled expression on her face.

"Uh, no. You can still do that," he decides.

"Oh, well... I guess I'd probably have to go with no sex, then."

Having regained control of his libido, he raises his eyebrow skeptically. "_Really?_ You'd go _the rest of your life_ without _ever_ having sex?"

Rachel shrugs her shoulder nonchalantly. "I don't think you understand, Finn. It's _Barbra_, my idol, the reason I want to be in musical theatre."

He smiles thinking back to the first time he met her, when she used Barbra to screw him over in US History class. At the time, he thought she was sort of insane. That hasn't changed much... Except now he loves Rachel Berry's particular brand of insanity.

"Okay, it's my turn," she exclaims enthusiastically, interrupting his reverie. "The world's about to end. What's the last thing you do?"

There's a whole load of things that he wants to do with his life. Like, he wants to be in the NFL and win the Super Bowl. He also really wants to meet Steve Perry and just shake his hand, or something. And, someday, he hopes he has enough money to pay off his mom and Burt's mortgage for them, just to make their lives a little easier.

But she's not asking what he wants to achieve in a lifetime. She wants to know what his _very last_ act would be. When the clock's ticking, with only minutes or even seconds left, what would he do?

Shuffling closer to her on the couch, Finn reaches out to lightly place his palm against the side of her neck. Her eyes flutter shut and she leans into his touch as he tenderly traces circles on her cheek with his thumb. Rachel purrs with pleasure, a serene smile gracing her lips. Her response instills Finn with a newly found confidence, and he instinctively leans towards her, so that the tips of their noses are almost touching. "If the world was about to end," he whispers softly, "I'd do this."

Just as their lips are about to graze, the lights in the apartment flutter back to life.

At once, the moment passes and he hurriedly moves away from Rachel.

They return to watching_ Game of Thrones_ in silence. Every once in a while Finn thinks he catches Rachel looking at him, and he wonders whether he should have just kissed her whilst he had the chance.

* * *

xxxi.

Neither of them mention the almost kiss in the weeks that follow. They continue hanging out with one another when Puck, Santana and Brittany are around, but they try to avoid being alone together. It's easier to ignore the tension between them with other people around.

Unfortunately, they aren't as good at acting as they both think.

Finn's devouring another piece of chicken from their bargain bucket when he notices Rachel staring at him from the corner of his eye. He flashes her a quizzical look and she leans towards him. "You've got a little barbecue sauce," she says, reaching out to brush her finger across his upper lip. "Right there."

She lingers for a couple of seconds until Santana loudly clears her throat. "Do we perhaps want to talk about the elephant in the room?"

Brittany immediately starts looking around for said elephant until Santana quietly tells her that it's just an expression.

"What elephant? There is no elephant," Rachel defends unconvincingly.

"Don't play dumb with me, Berry," Santana chides, rolling her eyes. "I can practically smell the pheromones you two are giving off."

Puck starts laughing as Brittany leans over to sniff Finn. Grabbing a magazine from beside the sofa and rolling it up, Finn swats the back of Puck's head. Apparently it only encourages him. "Don't take your sexual frustration out on me, bro."

Suddenly, Santana turns off the television and rises from the sofa. She walks over to the coat rack beside the door and grabs a few jackets, tossing them at Brittany and Puck.

"What's this for?" Puck asks as he pulls the garment off his head.

"We're going out," she states bluntly. Puck looks as if he's about to protest but Santana fixes him with a withering glare and he immediately shuts his mouth. "Rachel, Finn. You're going to stay here and figure this out. Talk about it, if you must," Santana says to the both of them, before turning to address solely Finn. "But my recommendation is that you thoroughly fuck her on every surface in this apartment...You know, except my bed."

Finn's jaw gapes open in shock.

"Santana," Rachel gasps. "We're not wild animals. You can't just lock us in the apartment and expect us to mate."

The Latina dismisses Rachel's complaints with a simple flick of her wrist as she hustles Brittany and Puck out of the door.

A tense silence descends on the apartment for a moment, until Rachel launches into a tirade about Santana and her meddlesome ways. Finn considers telling her how cute she is when she's angry, but she's speaking so quickly that he can't get a word in edgewise and he guesses she wouldn't appreciate it anyway.

When the need for oxygen becomes too much and she stops to take a breath, he interrupts her. "Maybe Santana has a point," he says, earning an irritated glare from Rachel. "Not about the, you know... fucking you on every surface in the apartment thing." A deep blush suffuses Rachel's cheeks and she bashfully bows her head to avoid his gaze. "But we should talk about our feelings and stuff."

She reluctantly concedes and, after downing her glass of wine to calm her nerves, she starts talking to him openly about her feelings for him for the very first time.

"We both know that we're more than just friends," she begins. "We always have been. But I need you to understand something, Finn... I've been waiting my whole life for you to come along. Before I came here, I only had _two_ friends. And I love them both - I really, truly do - and I wouldn't trade either of them for the world. But everything is just... _different_ with you. From the moment we first met, I knew you were going to change my life. That first day, when I gave you the wrong answer so that I could make myself look good? I used to do that sort of thing to people all the time because I felt like I had no other choice. Most people hated me in school. I was just this annoying, Jewish girl with two gay dads and a ton of talent. I had to make myself stand out - I had to _make myself feel special _- because there was no one else doing it for me. When you followed me after that first history class... that was the first time anyone had ever asked me _why_ I'd do something like that. You were the first person - besides Noah and Santana - that ever _cared_ about me, Finn," she explains, with tears rolling down her face. Finn reaches out to brush them away. "You're _everything_ that is _good_ in this world. You're kind, honest, selfless. And you make me want to be a better person. But I don't know if I can. I'm selfish and I'm a coward. I've made so many mistakes and I've hurt you in so many ways... And I can't even promise that I'll change."

"I'm not asking you to change, Rachel," Finn reassures her, taking her hand in his own. "I wish you could see yourself through my eyes. Because the girl that _I_ see... She's smart, and ambitious, and fiercely loyal."

Rachel shakes her head and it pains him to see how little she truly thinks of herself. "I'm scared, Finn. I'm just so scared that if I... if I let you all the way in, you're going to realize that you're too good... And then you're going to leave me. I don't think I could survive if you left me."

"Stop that," Finn protests, cupping her face between his hands and forcing her to look at him. "I'm _never_ going to leave you, Rachel. I couldn't walk away if I tried. Want to know why?"

She sniffles ruefully and nods her head.

"We are _endgame_."

* * *

xxxii.

They're not together - not really - but they've sort of reached an unspoken agreement. They both know they're _going_ to be together; they don't want to rush into it. Rachel keeps comparing their relationship to lots of different things: running a marathon, creating a piece of art, writing a melody. The principal theme seems to be that these are all things that take time and perseverance, yet are ultimately worth the effort in the end. Apparently Rachel thinks metaphors are important (that's why she always draws a gold star after her name; it's a metaphor for her being a star).

Another thing that takes time and perseverance is studying for exams. Luckily, Finn has Rachel to help him with that as well. They're doing different majors, so she can't help with the specifics, but she teaches him a ton of memory techniques. She also creates a study timetable for them so that they can coordinate their breaks. It's pretty amazing how organized - and calm - she is.

He's sitting at the kitchen counter one morning, surrounded by flashcards and highlighters, whilst Rachel potters around him baking his favorite banana bread. "I just don't know how I'm ever going to remember all of this _stuff_," Finn sighs as Rachel slides another plate of banana bread over to him.

"You're going to be fine, Finn," she reassures him. "You need to have a little more faith in yourself."

"Easier said than done. I'm not exactly the _smartest_ guy in the world. I'm really only _at_ college 'cause I'm good at football."

Rachel sits down on the stool next to him and covers his hand with hers. "You're more than just one thing, Finn. And you're smarter than you give yourself credit for."

"Thanks, Rach. I guess I'm just struggling with the pressure. You know, I haven't really thought about what I'm going to do if I don't get drafted next year."

She grabs him by the hand and tows him through to the living room, forcing him to sit down on the floor in front of the sofa. "What are you doing?" he asks as she climbs onto the sofa behind him.

"I'm just giving you a little stress relief," she explains, placing her hands on his shoulders and starting to massaging the muscles there. "You're really tense."

"Hmm, feels so good, Rach," Finn hums in response.

The only problem is that the sensation of her hands on his body is causing all the tension to migrate south. He grabs the nearest cushion and subtly places it over his lap.

"Okay, I'm going to paint a mental picture for you. You're going to close your eyes and just... go to that place."

Finn takes in a deep, soothing breath and does exactly as she says. He knows he should be studying, but Rachel really is making him feel better and he wants to enjoy their time together before Santana and Brittany inevitably disturb their peace.

"Picture yourself at the 2015 National Championship Game. You've just led the Buckeyes to their first national victory in twelve years. The entire crowd is on its feet, screaming your name. There's confetti fluttering down around you, as you and the rest of your teammates hoist the trophy up into the air."

"I'm there," he tells her wistfully. It's not hard for him to imagine how he might feel in that situation; it's something he's been dreaming of his entire life. The only difference is that now, in every fantasy he has about winning the National Championship, Rachel's sitting in the crowd. He pictures himself after scoring the winning touchdown, holding his hand to his chest and then pointing to Rachel in the crowd to let everyone know that she's his girl.

"Now picture yourself at the Draft. You're waiting nervously as player after player is drafted, until it's time for the 49ers to take their pick. Ten minutes seems to stretch on for a lifetime but, finally, the commissioner comes out. The whole arena goes silent... And then your name is announced as the 49ers' selection. And everybody's clapping as you go out to collect your jersey and have your photo taken."

"That sounds perfect, except for one thing," he murmurs contentedly, before leaning his head back to look at her. "Does it have to be the 49ers?"

"You told me that's your dream team," she says, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"I guess I changed my mind," he explains nonchalantly. "Like, maybe you could change it to the Giants? Or even the Jets?"

An expression of pure bemusement settles on her face as she tries to work out the reason for his sudden change of heart. He can pinpoint the precise moment she gets there because a warm smile tugs at the corners of her mouth. "And why would you want to play for the Giants?" she asks, feigning ignorance.

"You know, they're a pretty good team... And I guess New York would be a kind of cool place to live," he says with a shrug of his shoulders; though the mischievous glint in his eyes betrays him.

Rachel affectionately rubs her hands over his chest and leans down to press a kiss against his cheek. "I love you, Finn Hudson," she murmurs into his ear.

* * *

xxxiii.

Finn finishes his exams on the second Thursday of May. Since he's been running on coffee and adrenaline for the last few weeks, all he wants to do is sleep for about a month, but he doubts Puck's going to let that happen. Still, he decides to get a few hours in before the wild partying starts.

When he wakes up on top of his comforter in the middle of the afternoon, he's suddenly aware of an arm draped over him that wasn't there when he fell asleep. As he rolls over to face Rachel, the movement of the bed jostles her awake. Her eyes flutter open and she sleepily takes in her surroundings. With her dark hair fanned out around her face and the bright mid-afternoon sun shining down on her through the window, she looks breathtaking. Before he can even think about what he's doing, Finn leans forward to press a soft, lingering kiss against her lips.

"What was that for?" she asks curiously as she reaches up to stroke the light stubble on his chin with the tips of her fingers. Rachel does that a lot; she touches parts of him that no one else would ever think to touch. Like, sometimes she'll press her hand into the back of his knee, or pay undue attention to a scar on his forearm. It's as if she's trying to memorize every tiny, insignificant detail of his body.

"Just because I wanted to," he explains simply, as if he kisses her like that all the time.

She accepts his explanation without further comment or question. Instead, she goes back to caressing his jawline until she reaches his ear, where she proceeds to lightly pinch his lobe between her thumb and forefinger. Finn closes his eyes and revels in the feeling of her body pressed against his.

He intuitively knows that she's watching him, even though he can't see her. Normally he'd feel self-conscious being observed so closely, but he's kind of used to Rachel doing it. When he finally opens his eyes again, she's chewing on her bottom lip like she does when she's ruminating particularly hard on something.

"What are you thinking about?" Finn asks.

"I'm thinking that I'm ready."

"Ready for what?"

"I'm ready to be with you, Finn. Properly, and fully... and forever."

He can't find the words he wants to say to her, so he settles for kissing her again instead.

It's deeper and more urgent than the last one. Finn tangles his fists in her hair to gently draw her closer. In turn, she pushes him onto his back and throws her leg over his hip to straddle him. Finn moans into her mouth as she grinds down against him.

They make out heatedly until they're both so breathless they have to stop. Rachel sighs contentedly as she rests her head on Finn's chest.

"You're not scared anymore?" Finn asks as he presses a sweet kiss against her forehead.

"I'm still scared about the future... But I don't want to lose any more time. Every minute without you is so _pointless_."

* * *

xxxiv.

The lease on the apartment doesn't expire until the end of June so, even though the school year is over, Finn, Rachel, Santana and Brittany decide to stay in Columbus until then. Santana manages to get Rachel a temporary job with her, as a waitress at the Spotlight Diner, and Finn takes on a few shifts a week helping out at a local tire shop.

Unfortunately their new jobs mean they don't get to spend as much time together as they'd like and, more often than not, there's _someone_ in the apartment whenever they do have a night off at the same time. As such, their physical relationship hasn't quite caught up with where they're at emotionally.

It's the middle of June when they finally get a chance to take that next step. They both have the afternoon off, so they get settled in front of the TV to catch up on _Hoarders_ whilst everyone else is out. It only takes about two minutes for Rachel to get distracted kissing his neck. The next thing he knows, his shirt's on the floor and his hand is in her panties. Even though she's biting down on her bottom lip so hard he's worried she might draw blood, Rachel is moaning loud enough for the neighbors to hear as he fingers her for the first time. He finds it kind of exhilarating, making Rachel lose control that way.

She's just unfastened his jeans and shoved them down to his knees when the door flies open. "Pull your pants up," Santana demands, in lieu of any greeting. "I don't want to see your pasty white ass, thank you very much, Sasquatch."

After that, they're interrupted so frequently that Finn starts to wonder whether Santana is doing it on purpose.

~x~

A few nights before they're due to return to their respective homes, Finn decides to go to the gym. He needs to make sure he's in good shape for the next football season if he wants to get recruited. Plus, Rachel, Santana and Brittany want to have 'girl night' with pedicures, face masks and crappy chick flicks anyway.

Half way through his cardio workout, his phone vibrates with an incoming text. Opening the message, he reads: _Get your fine ass home. S and B have gone out. You can work out here ;-) Love you._

He's in such a rush to get back to her that he actually considers forgoing a shower (he does end up having one though) and he's sure he runs at least two red lights on his way back to the apartment.

"Baby? You here?" he calls out as he walks through the door. The apartment is almost completely dark, save for a thin sliver of light at the bottom of his closed bedroom door. He knocks hesitantly before entering.

When his gaze lands on Rachel, his throat suddenly seems to dry up. She's lying in the center of the bed with her head propped up on her hand, wearing nothing but a black, lacy lingerie set. It's the sexiest thing he's ever seen. "_Holy shit_," he utters dumbly when he finally manages to find his voice.

"That's exactly the reaction I was going for," she giggles as she rises up on her knees and beckons him towards her.

When he gets to her, she instantly wraps her arms around his neck and pulls him down onto the bed, kissing him heatedly.

"Where're Santana and Brittany?" Finn asks breathlessly, as she moves to lavish his neck with open-mouthed kisses.

"I gave them a gift certificate for Taco Bell and told them to beat it for a few hours."

When she tugs at the bottom of his shirt, he raises his arms so she can pull it over his head. Closing his eyes, he loses himself in the feel of her mouth on his chest as she fumbles with the fastener of his jeans.

He helps her remove the rest of his clothes, tossing each garment onto a pile on the floor. When they're both down to just their underwear, Finn gently lies her back on the bed and hovers over her.

"You sure about this?" he whispers against her shoulder.

Placing her hands on either side of his face, she forces him to look her directly in the eyes as she tells him, "I've never been more sure of anything in my life."

It's all the encouragement he needs to move his hand round her back to unclasp her bra. With her bare breasts exposed, he takes one of her pert nipples into his mouth, laving it with his tongue, whilst he rolls her other nipple between his thumb and forefinger.

"_So good_," she hisses as she weaves her fingers into the hair at the nape of his neck.

Finn trails his hand from her chest, over her taut abdomen, until he reaches the scant piece of lace covering her sex. "I think these need to go," he proposes salaciously, as he strokes her through the thin fabric.

"Oh, really?" she teases, though the huskiness in her voice betrays just how riled up she is.

He hooks his fingers into the waistband and slowly peels them down her legs. Once she's kicked them off, Finn places a delicate kiss against the inside of her ankle, and then proceeds to graze his lips over the soft flesh of her calf and thigh.

"That's enough of that," Rachel demands impatiently as he bites down on her hipbone. "Get to the good stuff."

He glances up at her with one eyebrow raised in mock offense.

Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, Rachel directs him back up the bed so that they're face-to-face again. She presses a kiss to his lips before whispering, "you know what I mean." As if to emphasize her point, she traces dainty fingers over his torso until she reaches the the waistband of his boxers. Finn emits a guttural moan as she palms him through the cotton, and she smirks when he twitches against her hand.

Suddenly powerless against her raging libido, Rachel bends her legs to hook her toes into the waistband of Finn's boxers and drags them down. He's just leaning over to fish a condom out of the nightstand drawer when Rachel wraps her hand around his wrist to stop him. "I'm on birth control," she explains.

Finn takes a deep breath, pumping himself up and down a couple of times as he lines himself up at her entrance. "You're okay with this?" he asks one last time, stroking the back of his hand over her cheek.

She nods. "I want to feel _all_ of you."

With that, he slowly pushes into her, filling her to the hilt. Finn digs his fingers into the pillow under Rachel's head and pinches his eyes shut. The feel of her tight, wet walls around his naked length already has his stomach turning in knots. It's the most physically and emotionally intimate thing he's ever experienced, being with Rachel like this, without any barriers between them. For a moment, he stays completely still, allowing them both to adjust to the unfamiliar feeling of him being buried inside of her.

Finn can't tear his eyes away from Rachel. She's radiant, with her flushed cheeks and her sparkling eyes. He presses feather-light kisses against her collarbone, causing her to quiver with pleasure. She whispers in is ear that it's okay for him to move. So he does.

He rocks against her in a steady rhythm, moving deeper with every thrust. She writhes around beneath him, moaning and arching her back off the bed as she hurtles closer to her peak.

"_God_, I love you," she gasps as her fingertips dig into his shoulder blades.

Rachel locks her legs around his waist to lever herself against him, slightly altering the angle between them and allowing him to move even deeper. With a few more thrusts, she's convulsing under the full force of her orgasm. She balls her fists in the comforter beneath her and pinches her eyes shut as she wails Finn's name over and over again, like it's some sort of holy mantra.

Seeing her fall apart in front of his eyes, combined with the feeling of her walls clenching around him, is enough to bring Finn to his own release. He buries his face in her strawberry-scented hair as he shoots hotly inside her.

Neither of them make any effort to move for what seems like an eternity. Finn stays on top of her - though he's mindful not to crush her under his weight - and inside her, not wanting to lose the closeness between them just yet. "I love you, too," he whispers into the side of her neck, suddenly remembering her declaration from before.

Eventually Finn rolls back onto the bed and Rachel snuggles into his side, pulling the comforter over them. Stroking the bangs away from her eyes, he places a delicate kiss against her temple. They lay there in silence for a long time. Finn's just on the cusp of sleep when Rachel speaks. "Finn?"

"Yes, baby?"

"Do you remember when the power went out on Valentine's Day?" she asks, whilst idly tracing patterns over his chest with her finger tips.

He hums sleepily in response, at a loss as to why she's asking.

"You asked me whether I'd rather go the rest of my life without watching a Barbra movie again, or without ever having sex again."

"Yeah," he confirms, chuckling at the memory. "You said you'd rather go without sex."

There's a short pause, before she says, "I changed my mind."

Finn opens his eyes and peers down at her with a mischievous smirk on his face. "Is that right?"

She smiles and nods her head.

"I guess that means you're up for round two, then?" he asks as he turns to hover over her, pressing her into the mattress as she erupts with trill laughter.

* * *

xxxv.

Finn's freaking out in a very big way.

He keeps trying to convince himself that meeting Rachel's parents for the first time is _essentially_ no different from meeting any of his other girlfriends' parents for the first time. Of course, that's a pile of utter crap and he knows it. Firstly, Rachel has _two_ dads. That means two pairs of eyes watching him and four fists waiting to beat the living hell out of him if he screws up.

Secondly, and even more importantly, he actually wants - no, _needs_ - Rachel's dads to like him. With Quinn and Tina, there hadn't really been much pressure because it wasn't like he was planning on spending the rest of his life with either of them. Meeting Rachel's dads is a whole other ballgame. Like, he has to remember that these are the two men he's going to have to ask for permission to marry their daughter. Basically, his entire future rests on how this meeting goes.

He's been sitting in his truck just round the corner from Rachel's family home for almost half an hour, trying to summon up the courage to get out and go knock on the door, when the passenger side door creeks open and Santana jumps in. "Hey, Gigantor. I take it you're just having a little nervous breakdown about having dinner with Mr and Mr Berry?"

"You have no idea," he sighs, rubbing his hand over his head. "How did you know I was here?"

"You can see your truck from Rachel's bedroom window. She was about to come out here and talk to you herself, but I told her I'd do it."

It's not like Santana to voluntarily talk to people about their feelings, unless they're Rachel or Brittany, so he's kind of curious as to _why_ she'd offer to do that. When he tries to ask, she abruptly cuts him off.

"Now, listen up, Finnessa, because I'm only going to say this once. Man the fuck up and get in that house."

He should have known she hadn't come out to make him feel better. "Gee, thanks Santana. That's exactly what I needed to hear," he grumbles sarcastically.

"What do you want me to say? You have absolutely nothing to worry about."

He bows his head timidly to avoid making eye contact with her as he asks the question that's been plaguing him since Rachel invited him over to meet her parents. "What if they hate me?"

It shouldn't surprise him when Santana busts out into hysterics. Not really wanting to talk to Santana any longer - who's doing _nothing_ the dissolve his fears - he swings his door open and makes to get out of the truck.

"Finn, don't go," she manages to sputter out in between her laughter. "Just get back in the car, you dork."

"Why?" he yells exasperatedly, possibly loud enough for the neighbors to hear.

She leans over the center console and pulls him, using all of her strength, back into the car.

"Look, I'm sorry for laughing. That was insensitive," she says apologetically. "But what you just said is one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard. I mean... I have _a lot_ of hate in my heart, and _even I_ don't hate _you_. There's no way Rachel's dads are going to."

Finn takes a deep, steadying breath. "Yeah, but they're her _dads_. It's different."

"Do you know what dads want for their daughters, Finn? They want them to be happy." There's a moment of pause as Santana allows that information to sink in. "I've known Rachel since we were little kids and I've _never_ seen her happier than she is with you."

Against all odds, Santana's words actually make him feel slightly less nervous about meeting Hiram and Leroy. He's about to give her a grateful hug, but she flinches away from him and snaps "_no me gusta._"

~x~

Dinner isn't half as bad as Finn was anticipating. Santana, Puck, and Puck's mom and sister are also there, so he doesn't feel like he's being interrogated as thoroughly as he would have been otherwise. Rachel's dads occasionally ask some of the more serious questions - like stuff about his plans for the future - but he doesn't really have any trouble answering them.

His biggest problem is Puck's insistence on making stupid innuendos at the dinner table. They're just tucking into the lemon meringue pie Rachel has made for dessert when things get awkward.

"So, what do you think of our Rachela's dessert, Finn?" Hiram asks. "Isn't it delicious?"

He's just about to answer when Puck interrupts. "Yeah, Finn loves eating Berry's pie, don't you Finn?"

Not amused by Puck's crassness, Rachel picks up her pastry fork and discretely stabs it into his leg under the table. He winces a little, but the adults at the table don't _seem_ to pick up on the tension.

It isn't until everyone else has gone home that Leroy confronts him about it. Rachel's taking a bath before bed and Hiram is still pottering around in the kitchen, so Finn is left to watch ESPN with Rachel's other father.

Just as the NFL pre-season box scores come on, the older man picks up the TV remote and switches it off. When Finn turns to him, he notices that Leroy is already watching him intently with a severe expression on his face.

"Son, I want to talk to you about what happened at dessert," he says coolly.

Finn knows exactly what Leroy is talking about, but decides playing dumb is probably his safest bet. "Dessert? What about it?"

"I think you know," he replies wryly. "I don't want to know any details about the _nature_ of your relationship with my daughter. Thanks to Noah, I think I already know more than enough. My Rachela is a big girl now, and it's up to her to make her own decisions, but I just want to warn you... If you _ever_ hurt her, I won't hesitate to break both of your legs so severely, you'll never set foot on a football pitch again."

It's quite clear that Leroy is being entirely serious, which is pretty damn terrifying. Still, Finn has no intention of hurting Rachel, so he doesn't think he has anything to worry about. He swallows down the bile rising in his throat and replies, "I'd expect nothing less, Mr Berry."

Judging by the warm smile that instantly spreads across Leroy's face, that answer is a satisfactory one. Rachel's father gets up out of his arm chair, walks over to Finn and holds out his hand. Rising to his feet, Finn takes Leroy's hand in his own and shakes it firmly. No words are exchanged between the two men, but Finn senses that this is Leroy's way of showing that he approves of his daughter's choice in boyfriend.

* * *

xxxvi.

When they get back to the apartment at the end of August, Finn realizes that Rachel has about twice as much crap as the last girlfriend he moved in with. It takes him hours to get all of her boxes and suitcases up to the third floor, whilst she bakes his favorite banana bread in the kitchen. The only good thing is that his own stuff - as well as Santana and Brittany's - is already in there.

"I still don't understand why you needed to bring your own mattress," Finn says for the tenth time as he sits down at the breakfast bar to have a cup of coffee and a slice of banana bread.

"It's more comfortable than yours. I swear, you're going to sleep like a baby on that thing," she assures him, before she makes to leave the kitchen.

On her way past, Finn grabs her wrist and gently pulls her in between his legs. He places his hand on the side of her neck, guiding her face down towards his, until their lips meet for a tender kiss.

When their lips disconnect, she smiles down at him. "This is going to be the best school year ever."

He thinks back to the beginning of last school year, how both of them were emotional wrecks hiding in relationships with other people because they refused to face up to their feelings for one another.

Now, here they are, in their senior year, both of them happier than they've ever been and secure in the knowledge that they have the rest of their lives together.

Overwhelmed with a sense of unadulterated optimism and contentment, Finn rises to his feet and throws Rachel over his shoulder in a fireman's lift.

"Finn, what are you doing?" she squeals delightedly.

"What do you say we go break in that new mattress?"

* * *

**Hurrah for Finchel, right? Is it everything you hoped for?**

**I know some of you have had a few problems with Rachel's characterization in the previous chapters, but I hope this chapter has given a little insight into her history and why she might have (somewhat accidentally) ended up treating Finn pretty badly.**

**Please keep the reviews coming. I've been so happy with the response to this story so far and it's really inspired me to keep writing. Big love and a merry Christmas to you all! xox**

**P.S. I'm going to write at least one more chapter and then perhaps a slightly shorter epilogue, in case you're wondering.**


	4. Part IV

**Still don't own Glee. Warning: some M-rated sexiness in this chapter and also something kind of emotional. Grab your handkerchiefs.**

* * *

xxxvii.

Finn's twenty-second birthday falls on the last Saturday of September. As far as he's concerned, it's not really anything to get excited about. His plans for the day consist of football practice in the morning (it's one of those rare Saturdays when they don't have a game), followed by lunch with Rachel and a relaxed evening with movies and takeout. In essence, it's going to be just like any other Saturday.

That doesn't stop his girlfriend from counting down the days. She's so excited, anyone would think it's _her_ birthday, which leads Finn to assume she has something big planned. He keeps reminding her, in no uncertain terms, that he _does not_ want a party. Every time, Rachel tells him she understands. He still can't shake the feeling that she's up to something, though, and that puts him on edge.

When the day arrives, he's awoken at eight o'clock by Rachel peppering kisses all over his face. "Good morning, birthday boy," she says as he sleepily rubs his eyes. After he's eaten the tray full of his favorite breakfast foods that she's prepared for him, they take their celebration into the shower. Finn's pretty sure that it's the best birthday morning he's even had; he can't even bring himself to care when Coach Beiste makes him do wind sprints for being late to practice. It's _totally_ worth it.

They go to this little bistro in town for lunch because it does really good steak (for him), as well as a range of vegetarian options (for Rachel). Rachel seems even more talkative than usual - which Finn had previously though impossible - and he can only get a word in edgewise when she stops to check her buzzing cellphone. That, in itself, is a sure sign that she's up to something because she usually switches it off when they go out for a meal._  
_

By the time they get back to the apartment, all Finn wants to do is curl up on the sofa and make out with his girlfriend. He's not even particularly fussy about which film they pretend to watch.

Rachel's just in the process of unlocking the door when he suddenly spins her round and presses her back against it. She giggles as he attaches his mouth to the column of her throat, amorously biting and sucking the soft flesh there. "_Finn_," she groans. "You really need to stop that."

"You don't sound like you want me to stop. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, you sound incredibly turned-on," he murmurs against her skin. Finn thrusts his hips to show her his own arousal, eliciting a wanton moan from Rachel as her back slams into the door.

Just as Finn grazes his lips across her collar bone, the front door unexpectedly opens and they tumble forward into the apartment. Luckily, Finn manages to catch Rachel before she hits the floor.

Standing by the open door is Puck, with a proud smirk on his face. "Well, well, what do we have here?"

Finn's just about to lay into him (perhaps even physically) for cock-blocking him on his birthday when he notices they aren't alone in the apartment. Scattered around the living room, wearing expressions ranging from amusement to abject horror, are all of his friends and family from Cleveland. His jaw drops open when his eyes land on his mother and Burt.

"M-Mom," Finn stammers. "What are you doing here?"

"Surprise!" Rachel exclaims sheepishly, face flushing to the very tips of her ears.

Apparently _this_ is what his girlfriend has been keeping from him. It's pretty much the best birthday gift she could have given him, being surrounded by everyone he loves. He only wishes she'd told him about it _before_ he started putting the moves on her against their front door. Clearly everyone in the room heard the whole thing. That's why Artie, Mike and Sam are looking at him like he's a total stud, whilst his brother looks kind of like he's about to vomit (Finn understands; from prior experience, he knows how awkward it is when you overhear your brother getting frisky). As for his mom, she just attempts to act like she heard nothing, as she moves to pull him into a loving embrace. "Happy birthday, my Finny," she says, stroking her hand over his head.

Santana and Puck both snort upon hearing his mother's nickname for him. Rachel uses it a lot, but never in front of them, probably because she knows they'd rib him for it. She must see the way he cringes slightly because she rubs his back like she always does when she's trying to comfort him.

~x~

The day seems to pass by in the blink of an eye. Puck drags Kurt into being on his team in a _Mario Kart _tournament against Sam and Artie, only to realize that Kurt is more of a hindrance than a help when it comes to video games. Brittany teaches Mike some of her sweet dance moves and, per Santana's request, his mom and Mercedes recount embarrassing stories of Finn as he grew up. Rachel sets up her old karaoke machine so she and Blaine can perform a duet of _Don't You Want Me._

It's nothing _special_, but it really is.

Finn's standing off to the side of the living room, watching his family and friends interact like they've all known one another their entire lives, when someone claps him on his shoulder. He turns to see Burt holding out a fresh bottle of beer for him. "What you thinking about, son?" his stepfather asks as Finn gratefully accepts the drink.

"Just how fucking lucky I am," he says, a contented half-smile tugging at his mouth.

"You know, I would scold you for your language but, since it's your birthday, I'm gonna let it slide."

Finn laughs because Burt was never much of a disciplinarian. In high school, it was always his mom who grounded him when he got told off at school for getting into a fight or getting caught making out with some random girl in the janitor's closet. Mostly, Burt would just smirk knowingly until his mom smacked him round the head for encouraging Finn's bad behavior.

"Thanks. I don't think I could handle the humiliation of being sent to the naughty corner at the age of twenty-two."

Their conversation is interrupted by Puck throwing his steering wheel onto the floor in rage. "You suck, Hummel," he yells at Kurt. "I'd be better off with Berry on my team."

The little spat quickly escalates into a full blown argument as Kurt blames Puck's stupid hairdo for distracting him from the game, whilst Rachel harps on about how she isn't _that _bad at _Mario Kart_. Eventually, Finn and Burt have to intervene to stop Rachel and Kurt from clubbing Puck to death with the steering wheels.

"Still feeling lucky?" Burt asks, returning to his beer once the situation is resolved.

Finn's eyes wander to Rachel, who's curled up at one end of the couch with an adorable pout on her lips. It takes every ounce of self-restraint he has to stop himself from walking over to her and kissing it away.

"The luckiest," he tells his stepfather fervently.

* * *

xxxviii.

Mike decides to stick around for a while after Finn's birthday. Everyone else has to leave the next day to be back for school or work, but Mike has just finished touring with Justin Timberlake as one of his backup dancers and he has a little time off before he moves on to his next job.

Late on Thursday evening, whilst they're eating dinner in front of the television, Finn's cellphone starts ringing. Seeing that it's Brittany, he quickly answers. "Hey, Brit. What's up?"

"_Finn. I need your help. My car broke down on the highway and I don't know what to do_," she says, voice fraught with panic.

"Calm down, Brit. Just tell me where you are and I'll come get you."

Five minutes later, he's speeding down Route 71 towards Cincinnati - she's been at the university there for some sort of dance workshop - with Mike in his passenger seat. He slows down as he approaches the intersection between Route 71 and Route 35, since that's the location reference Brittany gave him. "Is that her?" Mike asks, pointing to a car with its headlights on parked on the hard shoulder on the opposite side of the highway. Finn pulls over at the side of the road and they both get out of the truck to head across the road.

Sure enough, Brittany is standing on the grass verge next to her car. But she isn't alone. There's another, much smaller person standing by her side, though Finn can't make out who it is in the dark. "Please don't kill me, Finn," Brittany pleads timidly. "I didn't know who else to call."

At first, he doesn't know why she sounds so nervous. It isn't the first time he's had to drive out somewhere to pick Brittany up because her piece of crap car broke down and he's sure it won't be the last. He doesn't even mind, really.

It's only when he gets close enough to see her companion that he starts to understand. Finn stares at the small girl he hasn't seen for almost an entire year, and hasn't spoken to in nearly as long. Her hair is a little shorter and she has bangs now. But, other than that, she looks pretty much the same.

"Hi, Finn," Tina says with a shaky smile.

"Uh, hi," he responds after a moment, figuring that he should just try to act normal with her.

It's kind of difficult to act _normal_ though because she's kind of like a stranger to him now. He doesn't know anything about her life anymore, what she's doing or whether she's happy. Rather than asking her, he returns her smile and sets to work on Brittany's car.

The entire time, Mike - who tagged along _specifically_ to help him with the car - chats to Tina. Finn manages to overhear them talking about some acting gig she has at a local theatre and the crappy apartment she lives in on the outskirts of town. Moving his head from under the bonnet to ask Mike to go get some of his tools from the truck, Finn notices that they're standing pretty close together for a pair of strangers. On top of that, Tina's twisting a strand of hair around her finger as she looks all doe-eyed and interested at whatever Mike is saying. Even though there's supposedly some sort of unspoken rule against hitting on your best friend's ex-girlfriend, Finn can't find it in himself to be uncomfortable or jealous. If anything, it's a relief to know that he hasn't completely broken Tina to the point of her swearing off men altogether. So, instead of interrupting their conversation, he asks Brittany to go get his toolbox.

It soon becomes apparent that there's no way he can fix the car at the side of the road, so they end up calling Triple A to pick it up and cramming into the cab of Finn's truck. The truck definitely _wasn't_ designed for four people, but eventually they manage to get comfortable enough with Brittany wedged in between Mike and Finn, and Tina sat on Mike's lap (under strict instructions to duck if they pass any cop cars).

They're on the road for a few minutes before Mike reminds Finn that he was supposed to call Rachel when they set off home. "Uh, Brits, why don't you just call Santana?" he suggests, not wanting to rub his relationship in Tina's face. He's sure she knows about it from Brittany and she's probably not even hung up over it, but it still seems kind of insensitive to have a phone conversation - which would undoubtedly end with them exchanging _I love yous_ - right in front of her. Apparently he's not very subtle about the source of his discomfort because Tina bluntly tells him that she doesn't mind if he wants to call his girlfriend, and promptly returns to feeling up Mike's flexing biceps.

By the time they get back to Columbus, Mike has Tina's number programmed into his cellphone and is already brainstorming ideas for their first date.

* * *

xxxix.

Finn returns to the apartment later than expected on Halloween, after a particularly tiring football practice. It's pretty quiet - save for Rachel's melodic singing coming from the locked bathroom - so he assumes that Santana and Brittany have already left for the fraternity party.

He's just fixing himself a grilled cheese sandwich in the kitchen when he feels her arms wind around his waist from behind. "Hey, baby," he says softly as she nuzzles her face in between his shoulder blades. "Are you ready for the party?"

"I'm not going to the party," she murmurs.

Finn turns round to face her, noting that she's still wrapped in just her robe. "Why? Are you not feeling well?" He lovingly strokes his fingers across her cheekbones as he examines her face for any change in complexion or signs of illness.

"I'm fine," she reassures him. "It's just... every time we go to that damn party, something bad seems to happen. I don't want to deal with any ghosts of girlfriends past or slimy TAs tonight."

Sometimes he thinks Rachel understands him better when he's not speaking, so instead telling her that nothing _bad_ could ever happen to them now, he tenderly kisses her eyelids as they flutter closed and traces the words _I_, and _love_, and _you _onto her back with his index finger. They stand silently, wrapped up in one another, until she breaks it. "You can go if you want. I don't mind staying in alone."

"I'll go wherever you're going," he tells her earnestly. The significance of this declaration isn't lost on either of them. They've spoken about it a lot, what they're going to do next year after they graduate. He wants to be in the NFL, she wants to be on Broadway, and the reality is that their dreams will probably end up pulling them in separate directions. So Rachel tells him that she'll follow him anywhere until his rookie contract runs out, and he tells her that he'll move to New York with her, NFL be damned. But the more they discuss these _enormous_ sacrifices they're willing to make, the more they realize that it doesn't matter where they are next year. Even if he's in San Francisco and she's in New York, they're going to be together. It's that level of determination - that absolute dedication to making it work - that's going to keep them together, rather than sacrificing, and compromising, and living in the same shoe box apartment. For the first time in his life, Finn thinks he understands what people mean when they talk about 'soul mates'. It's like Rachel is always there - a sort of extension of himself - even when she's not physically present, so he _knows_ they're always going to be together even when they're not.

For now, he keeps the conversation lighthearted. "Are you sure that you don't want to go to the party, though? You spent so long picking out a costume."

Rachel smirks mischievously as she takes a small step away from him. "I still plan on wearing my costume," she informs him with a seductive cadence to her voice. Giving a swift tug on the belt of her robe, she shrugs the garment from her shoulders and allows it to pool around her ankles.

Finn's jaw practically hits the flaw as he takes in the barely-there cheerleader's uniform she has on. The tiny, pleated skirt looks pretty much the same as those worn by the Spirit Squad (she may even have borrowed it from Brittany); but it's the red bikini top with _his_ number emblazoned over her left breast - the way that it dips in between her cleavage and reveals the expanse of her toned stomach - that really gets his attention. He can already feel himself becoming painfully aroused as all the blood in his body drains southward.

"You know, you should try out for cheerleading," he suggests, though not before taking a few deep breaths to get his pounding heart back into an almost regular rhythm. "I think it'd give me the extra motivation I need this year."

Rachel bites her lower lip as if she's considering his idea. "But I'm already so busy with classes and extra dance lessons," she counters, batting her eyelashes flirtatiously. "If I add cheerleading into my already hectic schedule, how will I find the time to sex up my _insatiable_ boyfriend?"

Obviously he's not going to argue with that logic. If his options are _watching Rachel dance in a skimpy outfit for a stadium full of people_ or _watching Rachel lose her mind as she gyrates on top of him completely naked_, there really isn't much of a _choice_ to make. In fact, he's wondering whether she'd be willing to _cut_ some of her extracurricular activities to spend _more_ time sexing up her insatiable boyfriend.

"Well, if you're not going to be cheering me on at the sidelines, I guess we're going to have to find something else to do with your pompoms," he proposes, sporting the roguish half-grin that belongs exclusively to Rachel.

Her eyes instantly darken with lust. "Give it twenty minutes, I'm sure I'll be _screaming_ your name."

Taking her playful banter as a challenge, Finn steps towards her and quickly wraps his arms around the back of her thighs to hoist her onto the nearest counter top. She wraps her legs around his waist and starts clawing at his clothing in her eagerness to get closer to him. Rather than bothering with all that, Finn simply shoves his pants down and pushes her already sodden panties aside, thrusting into her in one swift motion. It's fast and frantic, an act that can only reasonably be described as _fucking_.

It's okay though, he'll make love to her later.

* * *

xl.

The news arrives at some ungodly hour on a Tuesday morning in November. More precisely, the news is _squealed_ down a crackling phone line to an only semi-conscious Finn, whilst Rachel lies next to him drowsily rubbing at her eyes and trying to figure out why she just heard _Rose's Turn_ playing.

"There better be a good reason for you calling at 5:20 AM, Kurt," Finn groans, his voice thick with sleep. "And your blow-dryer breaking does not count as a_ good reason_."

"I'm _engaged_!" Kurt screeches excitedly. The words don't register with Finn immediately, he's so out of it, but he gets the message when his little brother goes on to repeat those same two words about thirty times over. Somewhere around the twelfth time Kurt says "I'm engaged," Rachel catches on to what's happening and she starts bouncing up and down on the bed, all traces of tiredness instantly gone.

All Finn can think is _what the fuck is happening here and why was I woken up at the crack of dawn for it? _Kurt hangs up before he has chance to ask; apparently he has _a million_ other people to notify of his impending nuptials.

As soon as the line goes dead, Rachel starts quizzing him. "When did this happen?" she asks, followed by "how did he do it?", "did Blaine buy a ring?" and "when is the wedding?" Of course, Finn knows none of the answers because Kurt didn't stick around to elaborate.

Going back to sleep is a lost cause, so he just lays admiring the view. She's straddling him now, her hands braced against his chest as she continues to shake with excitement above him. "Come on, Finn. Aren't you excited?" she inquires, a broad smile illuminating her face.

He resists the temptation to tell her he'd be more excited at 10 AM, because her enthusiasm is just so adorable and he doesn't want to subdue it. "Yeah, I'm really happy for him," he concedes. "I'm just a little surprised, is all."

Honestly, Kurt is about the last person he would have expected to get engaged at the age of twenty-one, and he thinks he knows his brother pretty well. When they were younger, Kurt had spoken repeatedly about his big plans of going to New York to become an international superstar. Not once had _getting married_ figured into that.

He guesses that's the nature of love, though. It's impossible to plan for in any substantive way and, on top of that, it has a tendency to disrupt any previously-made plans. And, even though that's immensely inconvenient and downright petrifying, Finn also understands how exhilarating it is. Knowing there's that _one person_ who _gets_ you and accepts you exactly as you are... It's the best damn feeling in the world. The prospect of losing that feeling suddenly becomes so much more terrifying than the loss of some abstract dream. So there's this sense of _urgency_ - a sort of hyper-awareness that every single second you spend with that person could, in fact, be the last - that makes you do crazy things. Like getting engaged at the age of twenty-one.

When Rachel pulls him from his wandering thoughts with a roll of her hips, the words _will you marry me?_ nearly spill from his mouth, but he manages to catch himself just in time. He's almost one hundred percent sure that this is not the moment. Besides, he'd never hear the end of it from Kurt if he stole his engagement thunder.

He settles instead for telling her that he can't wait to spend the rest of forever with her and hopes that she understands the weight of that promise.

* * *

xli.

Santana and Brittany decide to go back to Lima for Thanksgiving weekend, leaving Finn and Rachel all alone in the apartment, so that's one thing he already has to be thankful for. The holiday gets even better when Rachel implements a strict 'no clothes' policy some time between watching _Meet Me In St. Louis_ and eating a whole family sized packet of _Doritos_ on Wednesday night. After that, he insists they switch off their phones for the rest of the weekend so that they can defile the entire apartment without any distractions.

Rachel is spread eagle on the living room floor wearing just a pair of knee socks, her hands clutching at the tassels of the woven rug as he kisses his way down her abdomen, dipping his tongue into her bellybutton and swirling it around before continuing his path to her most sensitive region. When he reaches the crease where her thigh meets her hipbone, she growls and bucks her hips impatiently, clearly frustrated by his teasing. "Shhh, _baby_," he murmurs soothingly, but the feel of his cool breath against her prickling skin only gets her even more riled up and he has to press his hand into her stomach to stop her from writhing around beneath him.

"_Please_, Finn," she rasps. Unable to deny her anything - especially when she sounds _so fucking sexy_ - he parts her folds with the fingers of his free hand to feel the heat pooling there. The combination of her purring his name and the wetness that seeps out onto his hand has him hardening further. Simultaneously, he slips a finger inside of her and moves to suck her clitoris in between his lips. Her legs lock around his neck of their own volition, holding him closer to her core as he starts to lap voraciously, pressing his tongue flat against the aching bundle of nerves. Her whole body starts to vibrate as he adds another digit and starts curling his fingers into the soft pad of flesh. Glancing up at her, Finn notices the strenuous rise and fall of her naked breasts and the way her teeth sink into her lower lip, both subtle tells that she's about to lose control. At this point in their relationship, he knows her body so well that he can predict that it's going to take exactly five more thrusts for her to reach her release. _Four_, he counts in his head, plunging into her as deep as he can go. _Three _and another stroke of his tongue, just to push her closer to that precipice. _Two_. Finn removes his fingers from her completely and replaces them with his mouth, dipping into her core to capture the nectareous moisture on his tongue...

_Bang, bang, bang._

The heavy pounding on the front door slices through the intimate moment like a hot blade through butter, but Rachel pleads with him not to answer it in between breathy whimpers of his name. And, well, who is he to deny her the sweet relief that she so desperately craves?

Finn curls his tongue into her one last time, until she's falling to pieces beneath him, howling out a string of profanities ("oh, _God_. Oh, fuck, fuck, _fuuuuuck_"). She only ever uses such ripe language in the throws of orgasm, and it always fills him with a sense of pride when he manages to elicit such a passionate response from her. Her eyes slam shut as she thrashes violently on the carpet, balling her fists into the rug so tightly that her knuckles turn white.

After a moment she goes completely still and Finn can feel the tension draining from her body underneath his finger tips. Just as they fall into a blissful silence, the obnoxious banging starts up again, only this time louder and faster. Finn groans against her smooth stomach. "I swear to _God_, if that's Puck-"

"It's not. He went home with Santana," Rachel breathes raggedly, still coming down from her high.

Reluctantly Finn pushes himself up onto his feet, grabbing his t-shirt and pulling it over his head as he goes to find out _who_ is so desperate to speak to them at lunchtime on Thanksgiving. Maybe it's the neighbors, come to complain about the noise disturbing their peaceful family meal (he supposes he _should_ feel guilty about that). With a frustrated sigh he opens the door just a crack so that their visitor can't see into the apartment, since Rachel has just barely wrapped a blanket around her naked form.

It's completely useless because Kurt - paying no heed to social convention - barges into the apartment uninvited, nearly knocking Finn out with the door in the process. "I need to use the bathroom," he states dramatically, already heading down the hallway. "I think I'm going to hurl."

Blaine, who is still standing in the doorway, rolls his eyes liberally at his fiance's overreaction. It's an expression Finn is quite familiar with, since he employs it on an almost daily basis when Rachel berates a waitress for giving her ordinary coca-cola instead of the zero sugar one, or rants about Santana leaving her underwear lying around the apartment. Sometimes it terrifies him just how _similar_ his brother and his girlfriend are.

"Hey, man," Finn greets him, rubbing the back of his neck, suddenly feeling embarrassed about being overheard _pleasuring_ his girlfriend.

Luckily Blaine isn't one to make people feel uncomfortable, so he reaches up to offer a familiar, manly hug. He obviously notices Rachel over his shoulder because he says hello to her as she self-consciously pulls the blanket tighter around herself and scuttles off towards the bedroom, nearly tripping on the material gathered at her ankles. Blaine manages to stifle his laughter until she gets out of the room.

"So, what brings you here?" Finn asks Blaine once they're alone.

"You know, Kurt just wanted to see you. I guess he was feeling homesick or something."

"And now I'm feeling sick in an entirely different way," Kurt comments dryly as he returns from the bathroom. "Honestly, can you two _really_ not keep it in your pants around one another?"

"Maybe _you_ shouldn't show up unannounced at _our_ apartment, did you ever think of that?" Really, he doesn't understand why his brother is giving him the third degree about what he does in the privacy of his own home. "And do I have to remind you of what I walked in on during senior year of high school?"

Kurt visibly blanches at the memory of Finn finding him and Blaine with their pants around their ankles in the dining room one afternoon when they were supposed to be studying. "Didn't think so," Finn adds, smirking victoriously. He rarely brings the embarrassing situation up because he's spent the last four years trying to erase it from his mind, but it does make good blackmail material when he wants Kurt to do something for him.

Rachel comes sauntering into the living room - now fully clothed and with her hair pulled back into a neat ponytail - and places a hand on Kurt's shoulder. "It's nice to see you again," she says in an attempt to push aside the awkwardness.

Unfortunately Kurt doesn't go for it, grimacing as he peels her fingers off of him. "This is a Giorgio Armani jacket and I don't even want to think about where your hand has been."

Noticing the self-conscious blush that reappears on her cheeks, Finn glares at Kurt in a way that screams _be nice or I'll tell Burt why the dining room table has a rickety leg_.

Blaine decides to cut in before the two brothers' silent conversation has chance to escalate into fully-fledged argument. "I think what Kurt _means_ is that we're happy to see you again as well," he corrects, ignoring Kurt's petulant insistence that their engagement _does not_ give Blaine the right to speak for him. "What do you say we cook some dinner and then fire up that karaoke machine Rachel?"

They manage to get through their vegetable pasta bake (Rachel doesn't eat turkey, so they decided not to bother with the traditional Thanksgiving dinner this year) without any further allusions to any of their sex lives. The hottest topic of conversation is, of course, Kurt and Blaine's upcoming nuptials. Finn thinks his head is going to explode when Kurt starts harping on about venues, themes, color schemes, and flowers, so he focuses on stroking random patterns on Rachel's thigh beneath the dining table. Her lips turn up into a peaceful smile and she laces her fingers with his as she continues to nod along with all of Kurt's insane ideas.

"So, we've already decided on a June wedding," he declares. Despite his use of word _we_, Blaine looks like he doesn't much care about any of this stuff. Finn supposes he's suffered through so many episodes of _Don't Tell The Bride_ - all in the name of 'research' - that his brain is completely frazzled at this point, the poor guy. "It's going to be an intimate ceremony in New York, since we _can't_ get married in Cleveland, and... I'd actually like to ask you both for something."

"Yeah?" Finn asks through a mouthful of food. "What's that?"

The last time Kurt asked him for _something _in that tone of voice, Finn ended up with a concussion and two cracked ribs. Seriously, that _fucking Independence Day bunting _is perhaps Kurt's biggest decorative catastrophe to date.

"Well, I was sort of hoping..." he starts timidly. That in itself is pretty terrifying, as far as Finn is concerned, because Kurt never usually has a problem getting straight to the point. Therefore, this request must be really _bad_ and Finn's just about to tell him that he can put up his own bunting, or whatever it is you have at a wedding, when Kurt cuts him off. "I want you to be my best man."

That's certainly not what he was expecting to hear. He's not entirely sure that he's qualified to be anyone's best man (and especially not Kurt's, since he's shaping up to be a real bridezilla). Sure, he _was_ Burt's co-best man, but he had Kurt to help him pick up the slack with that. "Are you sure?" he asks dubiously. "I mean, I'm super honored that you'd think of me and I really _want_ to do it... I just don't want to fuck up your wedding, little brother."

Kurt rolls his eyes. "Sometimes I think you're more dramatic than_ me_. You aren't going to mess up our wedding. Besides, you'll have the bridesmaids to help you out."

"Hang on. You're having a best man _and_ bridesmaids?"

"This is a _gay_ wedding, Finn, and I pointblank _refuse_ to conform to rigid heteronormative ideologies. So, _yes_, I _am_ having both a best man and bridesmaids."

Finn ignores the first response that pops into his head, knowing that Kurt would _not_ appreciate him pointing out that no one could accuse him of conforming to_ rigid heteronormative ideologies_ given his choice of partner. Instead, he settles for an apologetic, "okay. Sorry I asked."

"Anyway, this is the part where _you_ come in," he says, looking directly at Rachel. She glances at Finn uncertainly, but he just shrugs his shoulders. "I would _love_ for you to be my bridesmaid... Well, one of them. You'll be sharing the task with Mercedes."

Before the words are even completely out of his mouth, Rachel is clapping her hands together excitedly and launching herself into Kurt's arms, knocking over a basket of garlic bread in the process. A broad smile spreads across Finn's face as he watches his girlfriend. Her childlike enthusiasm might be the most adorable thing he has ever seen.

Later that night, Rachel snuggles into Finn's warm body beneath their duvet, resting her head over his heart and stroking her fingers over his bare chest. Moments like these are his favorite, when everything is still and silent, and nothing in the world seems to matter except the tiny girl beside him. "I can't believe your brother asked me to be a bridesmaid," she murmurs.

He knows that Rachel has always felt like she's on the outside looking in - she wasn't popular in school and, even at OSU, she only has a small group of friends - so being asked to participate in such a momentous occasion is a really huge deal for her. It kind of breaks his heart to think that no one has ever made her feel special, or beautiful, or important, which is why he's determined to spend the rest of his life doing exactly that. "You're his family now," Finn explains, pausing only to gauge her reaction. She doesn't look freaked out, so he continues. "Like, you're my girl and I love you. So Kurt loves you too."

When she looks up at him, her eyes are glowing with pure contentment. "Keep talking like that, Finn Hudson, and you might just get _very_ lucky," she whispers against his chest before placing a sweet kiss there.

"Good. 'Cause it's like a tradition for the best man to seduce the bridesmaid, you know? It might create some bad karma, or something, if we break it."

Rachel laughs at his cheeky comment, even as she slides her hand over his stomach and under the waistband of his pajama pants.

* * *

xlii.

The time on the clock is running down and they're two points behind. _Two damn points _between the Buckeyes and their first national championship win in _twelve_ years.

He's just called a timeout to discuss their next play but, really, he just needs a second to _breathe_. If he doesn't get drafted in April, this will very likely be his last chance to _ever_ play in a football championship of any description. So there's a lot riding on the last twenty-one seconds of this game.

He _really_ wants to win this thing, not just for himself or to increase his chances of getting drafted. He wants it for his teammates, for Coach Beiste, and for Ohio State University. But, looking at them right now - all the guys gathered on the sidelines listening to Coach call the play, and the thousands of Buckeyes fans that traveled all the way to Miami to see them win - it just makes his stomach churn. Every single one of them is _counting on him_ to lead them to victory. Whilst it's true there's no 'I' in 'team' and, whether they win or lose, they'll be doing it together, there's still this expectation that the quarterback should be _holding it together_...

But he's _not_. He's not holding it together _at all_.

This is the moment he's been waiting for since his fifth birthday, the day he held his first football... And he feels like he's about to hurl all over the pitch. That is _not_ how he pictured this thing going down.

So he closes his eyes for a moment and attempts some of those deep breathing exercises Rachel showed him. In his head, he goes back to the place she took him to on that day he was freaking out about exams. He tries to imagine the screaming fans and the deluge of confetti as his teammates huddle together to celebrate their victory... But all he can really _see_ is Rachel.

It's sort of strange that he's focusing on _her_, considering she's about the only person in his life who isn't going to be disappointed if they don't win this game. Of course she _cares_ about the game because it's important to him, and she definitely _wants_ them to win so that he and Puck are happy. But he also knows that she's going to be there for him regardless of the outcome. If they win, she'll be standing by his side at the after party, boasting to anyone who will listen about how her boyfriend is the star quarterback. Equally, if things don't go their way, she'll be the one to massage his back and reassure him that he's still a champion in her eyes. Maybe that's all he really needs right now; the comfort of knowing he has Rachel and will always have Rachel, no matter what.

Even though the Dolphin Stadium is massive, he desperately searches the rows of spectators, hoping to see her one last time before he gathers with his teammates on the line of scrimmage. When he finally finds her, standing just a few rows back from the forty yard line, the awful sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach fades away. She's sandwiched in between his mom and Santana, holding their hands in some sort of death grip. As she returns his gaze, her eyes flicker with an emotion he can't quite read, though it looks somewhat akin to quiet confidence, faith and adoration.

Rachel pulls her hand free from Santana's for a moment, placing it against her lips before blowing a kiss in his direction. His lips curve into a serene smile as he catches the imaginary kiss in his hand and presses it against his chest like it's some sort of talisman. With renewed spirit, Finn winks at her and jogs back onto the pitch to finish what they already started.

As the boys line up for the snap opposite the Auburn Tigers, Puck can't resist getting in one last verbal beat down. "Hey, Azimio," he shouts at one of their defensive ends. "I had sex with your mom." The other boy's eyes widen in horror beneath his helmet and he looks like he's about to retaliate, but Puck is undeterred. "That's right. I fucked your mom... On your bed. Nice _Star Wars_ sheets." Puck's brazen disrespect for his mother pisses Azimio off enough that his teammates have to hold him back to stop him from charging right into the Buckeyes' offensive line.

Thankfully the whistle blows before a fight breaks out. Finn receives the snap, then quickly runs towards the left sideline where Ryder Lynn, their fullback, is waiting to take the handoff (or at least that's what the Tigers' defensive line thinks). Before the handoff is complete, he quickly pulls the ball back and tries to shield it from view. As Azimio and his equally unobservant teammates take off after Ryder, Finn looks downfield in search of an open wide receiver. Puck's ready and waiting to receive the pass at the twenty yard line, so Finn cocks his arm back and lobs the ball with immense power and precision in his direction. By the time the morons on the Tigers figure out that Ryder isn't carrying the ball, Puck's already got it in is hands and is making a mad dash for the end zone. And, honestly, Finn has never seen anyone run that fast. He knows within seconds that the play is good and the linebackers don't stand a chance of getting to him in time.

The final buzzer goes off just as Puck crosses the end line, causing the stadium to erupt with screams and applause. All of a sudden, the pitch becomes crowded with players, and coaches, and various other members of the Buckeyes' training team. Finn makes his way through the sea of red towards the end zone to meet his best friend and right hand man. The euphoria he's feeling is indescribable, so much more intense than he'd anticipated, even in his _wildest_ fantasies of this moment. The roars of the crowd are so overpowering that he can't even think straight and he moves on autopilot, hugging and fist-bumping everyone on his way across the pitch.

He's so disoriented by the entire situation that he doesn't even notice his girlfriend climbing over the stands, barging into anyone and everyone blocking her path. It's only when Puck asks him, _"what the fuck's Berry doing?"_ that he turns to see her just as she grabs some guy's hot dog and throws it into the crowd, clearly frustrated at being obstructed.

Finn goes to meet her just as she reaches the field. "What are you doing, crazy?" he asks affectionately as she takes a running jump into his arms and burrows her face into the crook of his neck.

"You won," she squeals, completely ignoring his question, before fervently crushing her mouth against his. Finn allows her to slide down his torso until her feet touch the ground, though he refuses to part from her lips. Bunching her fists into his jersey, she pulls him even closer and deepens the kiss, pushing her tongue into his mouth. Their tongues move against one another in a familiar dance and Rachel moans into his mouth, stirring up an intense yearning in his stomach. "Down boy," she whispers breathlessly against his lips as they separate from one another, their need for oxygen having become too much.

"You do realize there's a dude over there shouting at you for launching his hot dog like a hand grenade?" he says over a chuckle, searching for any topic that doesn't pertain to sex or the prominent arousal in his pants.

Her eyes wander in the direction from whence she came and, sure enough, there's a rather burly, middle-aged man gesticulating violently as his yells get lost in the crowd. "I was doing him a favor. Do you have any idea how much salt and saturated fat there is in one of those things?"

Finn laughs at her response (it's _so_ like her to play off any less-than-honorable thing she does as an act of benevolence) before pulling her in for another bone-shaking, skin-searing kiss.

* * *

xliii.

It's amazing how things can go from being perfect to an absolute living nightmare in no time at all. Only a month after winning the National Championship Game, that's exactly what happens.

Finn gets back from the library pretty late one evening, having spent the whole day working on a paper. He's just about to go to the fridge to grab a cold bottle of beer when Rachel walks down the hallway from the direction of their bedroom. "Hey, babe," he greets her, completely oblivious to her somber mood. That is, until he notices the tracks of mascara staining her cheeks. "Oh, _shit_, Rach. What's wrong?" he asks shakily, panic suddenly overtaking him.

The tears are still wet beneath her eyes as she takes his hand in hers and leads him towards the couch in the middle of their little living room. He can hear the blood pounding in his ears and there's a palpable pain growing within his chest. "You need to sit down for this," she tells him, trying - but failing - to keep her voice steady.

He just nods his head dumbly as all the possible reasons for her current state of distress invade his mind. Like, he doesn't think she's breaking up with him or anything. Their relationship has been practically perfect for eight entire months and he can't think that he's done anything to ruin that. He guesses it could be something school-related, but she looks _way_ too upset for it to be that. Even at her most dramatic, Rachel wouldn't want to worry him unnecessarily because she couldn't do a dance move or something like that. Bile rises in his throat as he realizes that it must be something much worse.

Finn _refuses_ to believe that she's ill because that just _couldn't_ happen to his perfect, super-healthy girlfriend who has never experienced so much as a sniffle. It doesn't even bear thinking about.

There's one last possibility that occurs to him. He's not entirely sure how or when it could have happened because she's told him loads of times that she's on birth control and that stuff is about ninety-nine percent effective. But, then, there's still that _one_ percent, so maybe... Could she be pregnant? "Are you..." he starts to ask but she quickly cuts him off, almost like she knows what he's about to say.

"It's not about me," she quickly assures him. Finn releases a deep breath he hadn't even realized he was holding. "Your mom called me earlier. She tried your phone and so did I, but it went straight to voice mail."

"I turned it off when I was in the library and must have forgotten to switch it back on."

She nods in understanding and squeezes his thigh comfortingly before she speaks. "Baby, there's something I have to tell you. But first, I need you to know that I'm here for you to lean on, no matter what."

"What is it, Rach?" he asks quietly, not sure he really wants to hear the answer, but knowing that he _needs_ to.

"Burt's in the hospital."

Before he even has chance to respond, Rachel is wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him into her warm embrace. He buries his face in her silky hair, seeking solace in her familiar scent as he tries to process the information.

"He had a heart attack at the tire shop," she continues to explain through a fresh round of tears. "Luckily a customer was there to phone for an ambulance... But it's bad, Finn. Kurt and Blaine are already on their way back from New York."

As always, she has everything under control. Their bags are already packed and in the car, ready for them to leave just as soon as he's ready. They should go as soon as possible, since it takes at least two hours to get to Cleveland, even when the roads are clear and the speed limit overlooked. Rachel doesn't hurry him, though. She just sits there, allowing him to find some sort of strength in her arms. It sometimes amazes him how Rachel always seems to know exactly what he needs without him even having to ask. It's as if they're connected by some invisible tether that allows them to share in one another's every emotion. He wonders whether their tether always existed, even before they met one another. All those times he felt inexplicably sad, or happy, or angry, or lost... Was that because _she_ was feeling those things?

~x~

When they arrive at the hospital, a receptionist at the front desk directs them up to Burt's room on the second floor. Blaine is wringing his hands together and pacing nervously in the hallway. "How is he?" Finn asks as soon as he sees his future brother-in-law.

The smaller boy pulls him into a tight hug. "He's stable but still unconscious," he explains. "You can go straight in. Kurt and your mom are already there."

Without hesitation, Finn enters the small room, keeping Rachel close by his side. The sound of their footsteps alerts his mom and Kurt to their presence. His mom immediately rises from her seat and hurries to greet them. "Thank god you're here," she breathes into his chest as she wraps her arms around his waist. Her whole body is shaking with barely contained sobs, so he holds her even tighter as a silent reminder that he's not going anywhere.

Over her shoulder, Finn keeps an eye on Kurt, who is paying very little attention to anything or anyone other than his father. The boy standing next to the bed is barely recognizable. His face is puffy and pink from crying too much, and the hair on his head is matted and sticking up all over the place. But the most striking feature of this new Kurt is the vacant look in his eyes. It's completely out of place with who Kurt is and the unbridled sense of optimism he always maintained, even through all his traumatic high school experiences. Of course, Finn wasn't expecting his stepbrother to be _happy_ - not by a long stretch - but he'd never imagined Kurt could look so _defeated_. His mom must catch on to what he's thinking about because she lets go of him and nudges him in Kurt's direction.

Standing in front of his stepbrother, Finn doesn't know what to say. Words have never been difficult for them, but what do you say to someone whose father's in a coma? There aren't any words that could possibly ease his suffering and that kills Finn most of all. After his mom and Burt got married, Finn had taken it upon himself to protect Kurt from everyone and everything that threatened him. One time, during their junior year of high school, Finn had caught one of the guys from his football team decrying Kurt with some homophobic jargon in the boys' locker room. He became so incensed that he pushed the boy into one of Sam's ice baths and proceeded to give him a bit of a beating. It wasn't his finest moment and he'd ended up getting suspended for a week as punishment, but he wasn't going to let anyone get away with upsetting his little brother. He feels so helpless now because there's nothing he can do to protect him from the grief of possibly losing the person he loves the most, so he just pulls Kurt into his arms and allows him cry into his broad chest until his eyes are completely dry.

In his peripheral vision, he notices a tear roll down Rachel's cheek as she reaches out to weave her fingers in between his mom's.

* * *

xliv.

After forty consecutive hours of sitting vigil at Burt's bedside, Carole and Kurt accept that they need to go home, if only to shower and get a few hours of undisturbed sleep. Kurt is a nervous wreck about leaving. He keeps reminding Rachel that she should phone if _anything_ changes, checks that she has the correct number for him at least a dozen times, and then nearly backs out of going after all. No one needs to ask what he's so worried about. Burt is in such an uncertain state, it seems like every breath he takes might be his last. But Rachel eventually manages to calm Kurt down, reassuring him that his father is in good hands and that she'll be in contact if so much as a hair on his head falls out of place, and he consents to Blaine driving him back to their family home.

Rachel has just gone to get coffee from the machine down the hall, leaving Finn completely alone with his stepfather for the first time since he arrived almost two days ago. It's in that moment of complete silence, save for the beeping of monitors and Burt's shallow breathing, that Finn realizes how much there is that he's never said. Knowing that this might be his last chance to get it all out in the open, he takes a deep breath and starts to string a bunch of words together, hoping that Burt can somehow hear him.

"Hey, Burt," he begins tentatively, tears already gathering in his eyes. "I don't really know how to say all this 'cause, like, we never really talk about our feelings and stuff. But the nurse says you might be able to hear me and I really need you right now. Actually, we all need you. I'm trying my best to look after Mom and Kurt, but I can't do it on my own. I just... I can't." Finn squeezes Burt's hand lightly, like a little kid trying to get his father's attention.

"I know I didn't like it when you first started dating my mom. Actually, that's putting it mildly. I was a little shit." He pauses to laugh darkly at the memory, wiping tears from his cheeks with the back of his hand. "But you make her happier than I've ever seen her and I don't know how she'd get by without you. She already lost my dad. Please, _please_ don't you leave her as well," he pleads, as if Burt has any control in this situation. "And what about Kurt? You have to be here when he proves wrong everyone who told him he couldn't or bullied him for being himself. All of his dreams are going to come true, and he's going to marry Blaine, and they're going to, like, adopt a whole bunch of kids. And they're going to have Kurt's fashion sense and attitude. You just... You can't miss all that."

Finn drops his head to rest on the edge of the mattress next to Burt's blanket-covered thigh as more tears roll down his cheeks. Realizing there's no hope of his tears ceasing now, he doesn't bother wiping these ones away and they start to form a large wet patch as they drip onto his stepfather's hospital bed. "Then there's me. I know you didn't ask for me... But, you know, you kind of got a two-for-one deal when you married my mom." He pauses, trying to swallow down the lump in his throat.

"I _need_ you, Burt. Like, who the hell is going to help me overrule Mom and Kurt when they try to feed us that fucking horrible wheat germ salad instead of hamburgers? Who am I going to watch ESPN with during the holidays? With only Kurt, Rachel and Blaine around, I'm gonna end up watching _It's A Wonderful Life..._ or some other shit like that. And you've always been the person to give me advice about women and stuff. I need you around for when I inevitably fuck up with Rach.

"And I have _no idea_ how to be a dad. You're the only guy I trust to show me how that works. 'Cause, like, I know I don't say it enough... But, you _are_ my dad. You're the only father I've ever known. And it's hard enough that I didn't get to meet my, like, biological dad, or whatever... But I can't lose you as well. You taught me everything I know about what it means to be a man... Well, you and Kurt, but I guess you also taught him, so..."

He knows that he's rambling; he's never really been very good at long, emotional speeches. Whenever he had to do anything like public speaking at school, Kurt would always write it down on cue cards for him and he'd practice it in front of a mirror about twenty times. But he has one last thing he needs to say to Burt. "Please come back to us, Dad."

Suddenly Finn dissolves into sobs, his breathing becoming erratic, as he contemplates how losing Burt would affect their family. He's so consumed with despair that he doesn't even register the loss of contact between his own hand and his stepfather's until he feels the light rubbing on his shoulder.

"You didn't think you'd gotten rid of me that easily, did you kiddo?" The rough croak startles him and his head snaps up to look at Burt. His eyes are still closed and his breathing is labored. If he hadn't heard him with his own ears, Finn would surely think that he was still asleep. As if to reassure him beyond shadow of a doubt, Burt speaks again. "And miss you getting drafted? Not a chance."

Finn tries to think of a suitable response, but he's so overwhelmed and choked up with tears that the words just won't come to him anymore. He knows he should go find a nurse or call his mom and Kurt - because this certainly counts as a _change_ in Burt's condition - yet he just can't seem to move. He wonders how much of his speech Burt actually heard and almost chuckles at the thought of his stepfather pretending to still be unconscious just so he could hear Finn pouring his heart out. If that's the case, he knows he's going to get ribbed for it later. He's too god damn happy and relieved to care about it though and, honestly, he's starting to think that maybe he should tell the people he loves just how much they mean to him a little more often. If there's one thing Burt's stupid heart attack has taught him, it's that life is short and you have to live it to its fullest every single day.

Just then, Rachel walks back into the room with a cup of coffee in each hand, rambling about how the coffee machine broke and she had to go to the cafeteria, which is why it took her so long. She's so preoccupied with the coffee that she doesn't even notice that Burt's awake at first.

"I hope one of those is for me," he says in a gravelly voice, startling her so much that she drops both cups onto the floor and the milky brown liquid splashes all across the room.

It only takes a moment for Rachel to snap out of her stupor, at which point, the most gloriously bright smile creeps onto her face. "It's good to have you back, Burt."

"It's good to be back," he admits. "And with a full on monologue from muggins here, no less."

Finn can feel his cheeks burning red as Burt starts mimicking parts of his speech, infusing it with hammy theatrics and crocodile tears. Rather than teasing Burt in return, he stands up from his seat and walks over to Rachel - who is laughing hysterically - and pulls her in for a deep kiss. Partly he does it to get a reaction out of his stepfather. Sure enough, he starts making fake gagging noises and childishly hollering at them to get a room. Mostly, Finn's just so overcome with an irrepressible sense of joy that all he wants to do is bask in it and share it with his favorite girl.

* * *

xlv.

Rachel's sitting in the seat beside him with her arms crossed and wearing her trademark pout. She's stubbornly refusing to talk to him, and has been for the last fifteen minutes, clearly thinking that giving him the silent treatment will weaken his resolve. Usually she'd be right. He hates it when she won't speak to him, but he's so excited in this moment that nothing - even Rachel behaving petulantly - can bring him down. "We're nearly there," he reassures her as he takes the appropriate exit off the highway.

"Good," she says sulkily. "Can I take this stupid tie off now?"

Ever the control freak, Rachel hadn't taken very well to being blindfolded for the duration of their journey. She'd made all sorts of excuses for not wearing it from travel sickness to anxiety over not being able to see the road ahead. Eventually she realized that it was fruitless to argue with him about it, though. Every time she moved the piece of silky material in an attempt to peek, he pulled over at the side of the road, tutted and readjusted it to make sure her eyes were completely covered.

"No. I said we're _nearly_ there."

She sinks back down into her seat with another irritated sigh. He doesn't dare to say it out loud, but he finds her kind of adorable when she's being huffy (as long as it's in a playful way and not in a _I'm going to cut you in your sleep _kind of way).

As soon as he pulls into an empty spot in the parking lot, she's about ready to tear the blindfold off in her eagerness to find out where they are. "Just wait a second. I want you to get out of the car first."

Finn gets out of the cabin and moves around to the passenger side to help her down. She's so little that she always nearly falls out of his truck, even when she's _not_ blindfolded. "I'd thank you for being so chivalrous," she says as her feet touch the ground. "But I'm angry with you."

An amused half smile plays at the corner of his lips. He knows she's not going to be mad at him when she finds out what he has in store for her this weekend. In fact, he thinks there's a pretty good chance she might drag him back into truck for a quickie.

He guides her towards the back of the truck and faces her in the direction of the runways, just as an airplane takes off. "Where the hell are we, Finn? Was that an airplane I just heard?" She frantically starts tugging at the tie again, inadvertently pulling out some of her hair in her haste to get the knot undone. As soon as she manages to get it off, her eyebrows crumple in confusion. "Why are we at the airport?"

"I just wanted to thank you for everything you've done to help me and my family over the last month," he explains, taking her dainty hand in his much larger one. He can't actually thank her enough for how she supported him whilst Burt was in the hospital and helped his mom look after the house, travelling back and forth between Columbus and Cleveland when she needed assistance. "You've been amazing, Rach. And, since we don't have much time left before graduation and the draft, I wanted to do something really special for you."

The tears are already welling up in her eyes, even though she doesn't know what they're doing yet. He pulls a white envelope out of his jacket pocket and hands it to her. Deftly sliding her finger under the flap, she opens it and pulls out the two airline tickets. The expression on her face is priceless and Finn really wishes he'd thought to take a photo on his phone. "We're going to New York?" she asks disbelievingly, tears streaming down her cheeks. "This is too much, Finn."

"No, it's not," he says soothingly. "It's not nearly enough. But, if it makes you feel better, you can think of it as an early graduation present."

It makes his heart warm to see Rachel's face light up as she jumps into his arms. "You're the best," she murmurs into his neck as they hold on to one another in the parking lot. He would happily stay in this position with her forever, but they have a flight to catch and they can always cuddle more when they arrive in New York, so he kisses her on the forehead, grabs both of their suitcases and leads her towards departures.

~x~

They're walking hand in hand through Central Park on their last evening in New York. Rachel has the side of her head pressed against his shoulder and is lightly humming the tune of the final number of _Wicked_, which they'd just been to see a matinee performance of at the Gershwin Theatre. Finn closes his eyes and revels in the angelic sound of her voice as they come to rest at Bow Bridge. "I could listen to you sing for a lifetime," he murmurs. He thinks Rachel singing might be his favorite sound in the whole world. Like, when she's in the shower on a Sunday morning and he's still lying in bed, but he can still hear her voice echoing through the apartment because she's really loud and always leaves the doors slightly ajar, as if she's trying to give everyone a performance. Those are always the best mornings.

"It's a good thing because I'm never going to stop singing, and you're never going to get rid of me, even if you try," she replies. Her tone is light and teasing, so he doesn't feel the need to reassure her that he's never going to try and get rid of her. She already knows that. Instead, he starts humming along with her, even though _For Good_ is far too high for him. But he can tell she doesn't mind him ruining her Tony-worthy rendition because he can feel the grin on her lips as she presses her face deeper into his arm.

"I don't want to go home," she confesses after a few beats of silence. He can understand why. Rachel has never seemed more in her element than she is in New York. It's as if she was born in the wrong city and New York would be as empty without her as she is without New York. She knows where all the best places to eat are and she made sure to take him to all the less well-known sites, as well as the more famous ones like the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building. She also managed to hail a taxi in an impressive eleven seconds flat and she knows exactly how to navigate the subway system.

"I know, baby. Neither do I," he agrees. There's a lot that he's not looking forward to back in Ohio. Being in a different city feels like a sanctuary from the stress of Burt's illness and their forthcoming examinations. "But we'll be back here in a couple of months for the draft and then Kurt's wedding."

Rachel looks up into his eyes with a sweet smile on her face. "Are you nervous?"

He's nervous about a lot of things at the moment. Mainly, it's the stress of graduation and Kurt's wedding (which is sort of turning into a bit of a circus) that is getting to him. But the other thing he's been feeling more worried about is the prospect of parting ways with Rachel. He knows he has nothing to worry about in terms of them being faithful to one another. There's no other woman for him and he believes her when she tells him that there's no other guy for her. It's more that he's gotten so used to having her around all the time that he doesn't know what he's going to do if they end up in separate cities. At least they both get Face Time on their iPhones, so he guesses he'll just have to get used to the idea of only seeing her through a tiny screen during the week. "It's not really the draft that I'm worried about. It's what comes after the draft I find most terrifying," he tells her honestly.

"But that's the exciting part," she counters, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him down for a brief, tender kiss. It has the desired effect of erasing his frown, if only while it lasts.

"I don't see how maybe leaving you can be considered _exciting_."

"Try not to think of it like that. Think of it as both of us going out into the world to achieve our dreams and become the very best versions of ourselves. And, once we've done that, we can be together again, get married and buy a house in the suburbs with a porch swing and a grand piano in the living room. And we'll fill it up with our seven children, two cats and a dog. And when our children are old enough, we'll send them off into the big, wide world to achieve whatever dreams they have. And we can grow old together, swinging on our porch swing with our two cats."

In an inappropriate public display of affection, Finn hoists her up into his arms and kisses her fully on the mouth. A couple of kids walking a dog wolf whistle at them as they pass by, but he just gives them them the middle finger behind Rachel's back and continues to move his tongue against hers. Eventually he puts her back down on her feet, noticing that they've drawn quite a large crowd. It probably looks like they just got engaged or something since, under normal circumstances, kisses like _that_ aren't really seen in public. He doesn't really care though and she doesn't seem to either. "I love the way you dream so big," he tells her as he slides his fingers into the spaces between hers. "I don't always know how to do that."

"Lucky for you, I know how to dream big enough for the both of us."

He honestly doesn't know what good deed he did in some former life to deserve a girl as wonderful as Rachel Berry, but he knows she's right. With her by his side, all of his dreams are going to come true, one way or another.

* * *

xlvi.

Radio City Music Hall is full to capacity with football managers, scouts, coaches and fans, all there for the 2015 NFL Draft. His mom and Burt are watching on the television at home because the doctors advised Burt not to travel so soon after his heart attack. Even though he's getting stronger with each day, everybody is still on red alert. But Rachel, Kurt, Blaine and Puck are waiting with him backstage.

It's the second round on the first day of the draft, and everyone is currently waiting for Roger Goodell to announce the sixtieth pick for the Denver Broncos. Even though there's still plenty of time left for him to get picked, Finn's stomach is twisting in knots and he waits with bated breath as each name is called out. Rachel, on the other hand, is as cool as a cucumber and, each time a selection is announced and it's not his name coming out of the commissioner's mouth, she rubs his back soothingly and says something along the lines of "don't worry babe. You'll get picked soon."

Only Kurt seems to share in his nerves. Whilst they wait for each team to make their pick, he keeps blathering on about inane things, like skin care, the nutritional value of eating raw kale, and Jason Wu's new couture line (Finn has no idea who Jason Wu is). Then, when the commissioner goes out onto the stage, he becomes completely silent and refuses to move or breathe until the name has been called.

"With the sixtieth pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, the Denver Broncos select Aaron Blaikie," Goodell announces monotonically to a chorus of boos.

Finn sighs emphatically and Rachel presses her face in between his shoulder blades, kissing him through the layers of thick fabric. With every name that's called, his faith wanes further.

Puck claps him on the shoulder and says, "fuck Denver, man." Usually he'd share that sentiment but, at this point, he doesn't really care which team he ends up playing for, as long as he's in the NFL. He tries to remind himself that he performed well at the Scouting Combine in February and, having led the Buckeyes to a National Championship, he's a shoo-in for the NFL. Only two quarterbacks have been selected so far... It's just frustrating that he isn't one of them.

The next team to make their pick is the Chicago Bears and seven minutes seems to stretch on for a eternity. He can't imagine what it must feel like to be the very last pick of the draft and he really hopes he doesn't have to find out because the sickening feeling only seems to grow stronger with every second. Rachel and Blaine try to distract him by talking about some weird artsy film that's just been released in the cinema, but it doesn't really do much good.

Eventually Goodell makes his way to the podium again and everyone seems to quieten down in anticipation as they watch on the strategically positioned television screens. "With the sixty-first pick of the 2015 NFL Draft," he begins. Rachel squeezes Finn's hand so tight he's worried she might crush it and then he won't be any good to any football team. "The Chicago Bears select Finn Hudson."

His heart pounds like a jackhammer against his sternum as he realizes the magnitude of what's happening. Everyone around him is smiling, jumping around and patting him on the back in congratulations. Puck and Blaine are pumping their fists in the air and chanting unintelligibly, Kurt appears to be crying, and Rachel is hanging around his neck, kissing his chin because she can't reach any higher without him bending down. He knows he should be walking out towards the stage through crowds of NFL officials that he can't even remember the names of right now, but he's in so much shock that he can barely move.

He's just been drafted to the NFL. The moment he has been dreaming of since he was a child is finally here. And, sure, it's not the San Francisco 49ers, or the Giants, or the Jets... But it doesn't even matter because it's still the NFL.

Finally, he pulls himself together enough to respond to Rachel's kisses. "Thank you," he breathes against her lips.

"What for? You did this all on your own," she tells him. It still surprises him that she doesn't see just how big of an impact she's had on his life. He wouldn't have been able to make it through Burt's heart attack, or the Combine, OSU exams, or even the last few hours without her. There's a lot he has to thank her for, but that's going to have to wait until later.

"I have to go, but I love you," he says as he disentangles himself from her embrace, hugs Kurt, Blaine and Puck, and heads out onto the stage and a torrent of flashing cameras.

As he walks through the curtains and receives his Chicago Bears jersey, he can hear Rachel exuberantly telling anyone that will listen that her boyfriend just got drafted. He's positive his life can't get any better than this.

* * *

**Thanks again for reading. I really hope you liked this chapter and are looking forward to the next one.**

**I'm terribly sorry for my poor knowledge of American football (I'm British... We don't really play it over here). I tried to be kind of vague about the game to avoid embarrassing myself, but if there's anything terribly wrong and offensive to any football fans I have reading, please do let me know in a review. **

**Speaking of... Please review. Big love xox**


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